


Signed, Sealed, Delivered

by FictionalNutter



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkwardness, Beating, Concerned Castiel, Demons, Dreams, Dreamwalking, Hoodoo, Hunt Gone Wrong, Hurt Castiel, Hurt Dean Winchester, Hurt Gabriel, Hurt Sam Winchester, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Nightmares, Protective Gabriel, Sexual Assault, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-11
Updated: 2014-04-07
Packaged: 2018-01-15 09:40:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1300306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionalNutter/pseuds/FictionalNutter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam and Dean both suffer from painful nightmares of their respective times in hell, but an unorthodox solution to their troubles sleeping results in an ending neither one of them could have predicted. AU for season 6.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [on FanFiction.net](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9188483/1/Signed-Sealed-Delivered). If you have any requests for time stamps or additions to this fic, let me know!
> 
> You can also find me on [Tumblr](http://www.supernaturallyimagined.tumblr.com).
> 
> This has been pretty significantly edited from the original story, since this was actually the first fic I ever wrote, and I've learned a lot since then. I haven't updated the FF.net version, so this is the most recent edition, and consequently the version I like the best.
> 
> Ways in which this is AU that you need to be aware of:
> 
> 1\. Sam woke up the day after jumping into the pit intact, soul and all, and managed to catch Dean before he got to Lisa's, proving he was real and having a proper reunion.
> 
> 2\. Castiel saved Sam, soul and all, and Sam remembers Hell, but not in such a way that the memories cripple him. He felt like he was in Hell for about four months.
> 
> 3\. God resurrected Gabriel and tasked him with keeping an eye on Castiel and the Winchesters from a distance.

The crappy motel on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, Indiana may not have been a five star establishment, but it was good enough for two tired hunters. The case that had brought the Winchester brothers to this particular dirt speck on the map was a smattering of demonic activity, but it hadn't been a big deal and they had cleaned house in less than a day.

Sliding the key card through the lock, Sam Winchester flung open the door to the room with little ceremony and moved forward until he reached the far bed, plopping down on it with exhaustion. "Well that was exciting," he said sarcastically.

Dean rolled his eyes, tossing a dufflebag onto the close bed Sam had not claimed. "They can't all be the apocalypse, Sam," he halfheartedly teased. Joking about the end of the world wasn't something they could quite do comfortably yet.

This time it was Sam's turn to roll his eyes, which he did before laying back on the bed. "I'm really tired for some reason," he commented, as if discussing the weather.

"That's kind of what the bed's for," Dean replied, amused. "Why don't you take off the jacket first though?" He gestured towards the coat Sam was wearing, which happened to be encrusted in demon blood.

"What? Aw, man! Gross! I like this jacket!" Sam stood up and continued muttering on his way to the bathroom, scratching at the stains as though trying to coax them out of the fabric.

Chuckling, Dean took the opportunity to change strip down to his t-shirt and boxers, then tucked himself into the double bed he'd claimed.

Sam came out of the bathroom a moment later, still grumpy about the jacket, and copied Dean's routine of stripping off his outer layers before climbing into the far bed. "Night," he called lazily.

"Mmph," was the only noise Dean could reply with as he drifted to sleep.

At four in the morning, two screams of pure terror ripped from the mouths of the sleeping brothers.

Sam and Dean sat bolt upright in bed at almost the exact same time, torn from their respective nightmares by the sound of fear from the other.

"Hell?" Sam asked his brother, almost afraid of the answer. Dean had never stopped having nightmares of Hell, but sometimes they were worse than others.

Dean nodded, resigned. "You?" Ever since Sam had returned from the pit, he had had terrifying nightmares that Dean couldn't even begin to imagine, even though he'd also been to Hell.

"Same." Sam threw off the covers and stood up, shaking his head as if to rid it of the terrible images. All he managed to do was get hair in his face.

Dean was distracted from his own nightmare by sympathy for his brother. Sam was plenty used to being woken up by Dean's fear of the pit, but Dean was still getting used to the fact that Sam was dreaming of it now too. His younger brother had admitted once that he had counted the days of torture at Lucifer's hands inside the cage. It had been exactly 130 days before he had woken up intact in the field where he had jumped into the cage in the first place. At the time, Dean could only think of the nearly fifteen thousand days he'd been in the pit, but he never even brought up the massive differences in their time below. For one thing, Hell was not the kind of subject for the comparison game. For another, Dean knew that Sam's time in Hell had been a very special brand of torture. From the look on Sam's face right now, and every other time he had woken up screaming, Dean could tell that there was no one more mastered in the art of torture than Lucifer.

The amount of time Dean had been topside since his own trip below had given him enough distance to recover from his nightmare with relative speed. He gave up on sleeping anymore that night though and got out of bed to join his brother. "Might as well watch the sunrise," he muttered sarcastically at Sam's inquisitive glance.

That made Sam's lips twitch in amusement, but the ghost of the devil still lingered in his eyes.

"Hey, why don't you get online?" Dean suggested. "See if there's anything else to take care of in this area."

Sam grasped onto the suggestion like a life preserver, agreeing quickly. "Sure, never hurts to be thorough," he replied, already distracted by the glow of his laptop. "Why don't you go get coffee?"

Dean gave him a withering look. "Dude, it's 4am. Nothing's open."

"Uh-huh." The disconnected expression on Sam's face said that he wasn't paying attention.

Sighing, Dean pulled on his jeans and grabbed a jacket to throw over his t-shirt, walking out the door with the keys to his most prized possession in hand.

* * *

Dean finally returned to the motel around six in the morning, having driven around aimlessly since leaving in the hopes of finding a place that served coffee before God woke up. He'd finally gone far enough to find a McDonald's, which would have to do.

Sam hadn't moved from where Dean had left him, although his long legs were now fully extended under the table the laptop was resting on.

Plopping down the coffee in front of his brother, Dean took an experimental sip of his before sitting down on his bed. It was all right coffee; could have been worse. "Find anything?" He asked hopefully.

Shaking his head, Sam took a quick swig of coffee without really acknowledging the taste. "No cases, but there's a hoodoo shop a few hours from here that's supposed to be pretty legit, and we're low on some of our supplies. Might be worth headed that way." He glanced up at Dean as he finished explaining, taking another sip of coffee and making a face this time as he realized where it was from.

Dean couldn't help but smirk. Sam was totally a coffee snob. Returning his attention to the topic, he mulled it over for a minute before replying. "I don't see what it could hurt," he said finally. "You never can be too prepared."

Sam snapped the lid shut on his laptop and nodded. "Good, that's what I figured. I'm going to shower, then we can hit the road." He stood and stretched, then headed for the bathroom.

Nodding in response, Dean snagged the television remote off the nightstand. "Sounds good. I'll be right here."

Sam snorted at that, knowing that Dean was unlikely to move once he found a show to watch.

He only spent about twenty minutes in the bathroom, but emerged to discover that Dean hadn't actually made any attempt to get their gear together to leave. Not that they had really unpacked yet, but it still took about half an hour for Dean to finish his show and actually get all their stuff together and into the car.

It was a little after seven when the brothers finally managed to check out of their motel and get in the Impala. Sam had offered to drive, since Dean had already been out that morning, but the older Winchester kept a death grip on the wheel of his car and refused to surrender it.

Having given up, Sam defaulted to attempting to tune out Dean's singing along to whatever 80's tape was in the player. One could only listen to so much Metallica.

"How far is this place?" Dean asked abruptly, breaking off his singing as the song started to fade out.

Caught off guard, it took Sam a minute to figure out what the answer was. "Uh..." He appeared to be counting in his head. "Like four hours? Maybe three. We'll probably hit town around lunchtime."

Nodding at that, Dean replied with his plan. "I say we eat, then spend the afternoon doing your shopping, find a place to crash, and relax." At Sam's questioning look, he shrugged. "We don't have a new case yet, so we can afford a little leisure time."

Not wanting to argue with that, Sam just nodded and leaned back against the seat, his eyes starting to droop a little in spite of the coffee. "Dude, for future reference, McD's is so not strong enough."

Glancing at his brother, who appeared to be about to slip into unconsciousness, Dean chuckled. "That's just cause their caffeine to size ratio doesn't work on Sasquatches. You can take a nap. If you start violently twitching or screaming I'll smack you."

Managing a weak glare at Dean, Sam nodded appreciatively and zoned out, the roar of the Impala's engine managing to lull him to sleep as it had done his entire life.

Dean made the drive in about three and a half hours, periodically checking on his snoozing brother to make sure Sam was actually sleeping soundly and not tossing and turning as he usually did. Satisfied that Sam was sleeping well, Dean kept the music at a reasonable volume and enjoyed the open road, scanning the road as they got closer to the town in search of a good diner.

It was almost one in the afternoon before the Winchesters managed to get to the hoodoo shop, but by that point Sam had had a chance to catch up on his beauty sleep and they'd both eaten what was actually pretty good food for a stock roadside diner. At least, what Dean had eaten was food. He wasn't sure the green soup Sam had drank so eagerly counted.

The shop was impressive. Sam whistled when they walked in, and even Dean found himself preoccupied with the shelves of jars and boxes before him. It didn't take long for the brothers to split up, although Dean promptly forgot his half of Sam's shopping list. It was easy to get distracted by the shelves of unique products. Half of the stuff he was looking at he couldn't even pronounce the name of, let alone figure out what it was for, but it was fascinating regardless. He was suddenly struck by the memory of having an afternoon to themselves and taking Sam to the mall as a kid, only for both boys to become enraptured by all of the animals and accessories in the pet store. Dean glanced to his right just in time to see what looked like a fish tank full of tiny creatures he didn't recognize, and chuckled to himself. Second verse, same as the first, apparently.

After wandering the aisles for almost an hour, collecting anything along the way that seemed important, Dean found his attention caught by a simple jar of powder. All it seemed to be was a mason jar full of sand, but the sand had an iridescent shimmer to it, and the label alongside it declared it to be dream dust. Given the horrifying nature of dreams in both his own life and his brother's, it was little wonder that the jar had his attention.

"Interested?" An attractive young woman had come up behind Dean, startling him half to death when she spoke. Her hair was a startling shock of nearly white blonde, and her eyes had an overly piercing quality to them, though her irises were so dark that he couldn't tell what color they were.

"Jeez-" Dean protested, trying not to drop the jars and bottles of stuff for Sam he was holding. "Warn a guy, would ya?" He adjusted his grip and relaxed slightly after he'd made certain he wasn't going to drop something.

"Sorry," she replied with a grin. Her hair had a bizarre shine to it when she shifted her head, and it mirrored the glint in her eyes. "You seem interested in the dream dust."

"I guess?" Dean replied, not sure if he was or wasn't. "What is it, exactly?"

"Interesting stuff," the woman commented, plucking the jar off the shelf. "All you have to do is inhale a little bit, and all your dreams will be of your deepest desires."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "That sounds way too good to be true," he said skeptically.

"Well, it isn't permanent," the woman allowed. "Breathing it in once only lasts about a week. You'd have to do it regularly to be nightmare free all the time."

The idea was tempting, but Dean wasn't in the habit of snorting random dust, and he could handle the nightmares. He'd been making out okay for several years now without magical assistance.

"If you want, I'll give you a free sample," the woman offered. "Once you see how calmly you can sleep with dreams of pure desire, you'll be back to buy the whole jar in no time."

Dean gave her the most skeptical look he could manage. "Why would I willingly inhale mysterious dust that someone gave me for free?" He asked, deliberately phrasing the question in such a way so that she would know how sketchy she sounded.

"Hey, you don't have to take what I'm offering!" The woman protested. "Seriously, I'm only offering because I can tell that you aren't sleeping well. Trust me, this stuff helps. I promise I'm not trying to poison you." The warmth and humor in her voice at that last comment made her sound just a titch more trustworthy. "Or get you high," she added after a beat, smirking.

Dean probably could handle his own dreams of Hell, but the memory of Sam's face when he had awoken that morning brought itself to the forefront of his mind. Maybe some random hoodoo dust was worth a try. Dean was pretty sure Sam dreamed of Hell way more often than he did, and it was starting to worry him.

"So, are you going to try it or what?" The woman urged him, shaking the jar for emphasis.

"Yeah, I guess," Dean said reluctantly.

"Great!" She immediately perked up and gestured for him to follow her. "Come on, I'll take you to the front counter. This place is kind of a maze."

Dean followed her automatically, glancing down aisles as they walked until he spotted Sam. "Hey, you ready to go?" He called.

Sam glanced up, startled. "Oh, yeah, I think so." He shifted an armful of purchases and strode towards Dean. "Did you get everything?"

Not entirely sure what he was meant to be grabbing, Dean merely nodded and help up his own armful as proof.

"Sweet. Let's check out and get this stuff in the trunk."

Dean was content to follow Sam to the checkout and let him purchase all of the supplies, though he had to interject when Sam spotted the woman putting a small bag full of dream dust into his bag of purchases.

"Wait, what's that?" Sam tried to interject.

"Don't worry about it," Dean replied, motioning for the woman to carry on. "It's something I wanted to try. I'll tell you about it later."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't otherwise comment. With a few final beeps of the cash register and a wad of cash departing Sam's wallet, they were ready to leave. The woman signed some kind of inventory form, sealed their bag shut, and handed it to Sam. "Signed, sealed, delivered!" She said with a giggle.

Sam's lips twitched in response, but Dean rolled his eyes and frowned. Great, now that song would be stuck in his head all day.

As they strode out the front door, Dean said, "So, let's find a bar."

Chuckling, Sam just nodded and followed him. Sometimes it was wise to keep an eye on Dean, even when Sam didn't necessarily feel like getting drunk himself. Luckily, it proved to be a pretty innocuous night, and neither Winchester left too inebriated. They made it back to their new motel room without too much trouble, and Sam brought in the bags of supplies from the car so they could sort through them.

After emptying the bags, Sam held up the little pouch the woman had added to their purchase, showing it to Dean. "So, you going to tell me what this stuff is?"

It took Dean a second to process the question before he remembered their shopping trip earlier. He may have had a little more to drink than Sam. "Oh, yeah. It's called dream dust or something. She said it causes you to dream of your desires or whatever. Supposed to stop nightmares, at least. Gave me a free sample. Apparently I looked tired." He shrugged and plopped down onto his bed with a yawn.

"Dude, dream dust?!" Sam was gaping at Dean, surprised by the new information.

"Relax, Sam. We both sleep like crap most nights, especially you, so I figured, what could it hurt?" Dean hauled himself up off the bed and took the bag from Sam, who had been glaring at it like it contained arsenic, and set it on the nightstand. "If something can help with the nightmares...well, we need more sleep to be effective hunters." He phrased it that way because he knew it would appeal to Sam's logical side.

The look on Sam's face proved he was right, and the taller Winchester sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll do a little bit of research, and if it pans out, we'll try it. But if we grow horns or turn into drooling idiots, I swear I will kill you myself."

Dean grinned. "I wouldn't expect anything less," he replied with mock solemnity.


	2. Dreaming

In a small and overlooked part of Rocky Mountain National Park, the archangel Gabriel was reclining on the ground with his feet in a lazy stream, relaxing and enjoying the view.

Besides him, thoroughly unwilling to place his feet in the water, was Gabriel's younger angelic brother, Castiel. Something about having both been brought back to life by God had given them a stronger bond, and they spent a lot more time together now than they had previously. It also helped that Castiel was one of the few beings in existence who even knew Gabriel was alive.

"Why do you do that?" Castiel finally inquired, gazing at his brother curiously.

Knowing he meant placing his feet in the water, Gabriel chuckled in response and wiggled his toes. "I like how it feels," he admitted. "Plus, feeling the water move across my skin is kind of therapeutic I guess."

Castiel's head tilted slightly in response, but he did not otherwise question Gabriel further about it. "Have you thought about returning to Heaven?" He finally asked, changing the subject to something of more significant consequence.

Gabriel shrugged, not seeming to find the topic important. "Not lately. God gave me a job to do on earth, and I'm enjoying myself."

"It is true," Castiel acknowledged. "The Winchesters can be quite engrossing to observe."

Gabriel snorted a laugh, electing not to comment on that. Instead he stretched out his legs and leaned back on his elbows, gazing up at the night sky. "Speaking of the chuckleheads, I guess we should really check on them."

"Dean is fine," Castiel responded automatically. At Gabriel's expectant glance, obviously requiring an explanation, Castiel hesitated before answering, "I am...more attuned to his well being than other humans. I believe he is asleep."

Gabriel snorted again. "Right. Well, unless something catastrophic has happened since about ten minutes ago, Sam's good too."

A light of understanding went off in Castiel's eyes before it was dimmed again by confusion. "So that is where you went before. If you just checked on them a few moments ago, why do you again feel the need so soon?"

"Because it's my job, baby bro," Gabriel said with a wink. "Plus, if any humans on this planet could get themselves annihilated in ten minutes, it's our charges."

Had he been prone to laughter, Castiel would have laughed at that statement. At is was, he did find it amusing. "That is quite true," he allowed.

Suddenly Gabriel's head whipped up, and he looked off into space, confusion etched on his features.

"Gabriel?" Castiel asked, concerned. "What is it?"

"Someone's calling me," Gabriel said, still confused. "Repeatedly. Not in panic though. I can't tell why. No one even knows I'm...it's faint though, like..." Understanding dawned, and he nodded to himself. "It's a dream. Someone is calling out to me in a dream. Over and over again."

As he listened to Gabriel explain whatever he had heard, Castiel was suddenly gripped by a call of his own. Someone was calling him repeatedly, but not in panic. The voice was familiar, but faint, and Castiel was sure he too was being summoned from within a dream. "I am feeling the same thing," Castiel informed his brother.

Curious Gabriel stood and with a wave of his index finger was both dry and wearing his shoes again. "Let's fly to whoever is dreaming of us then, shall we?"

Nodding in agreement, Castiel followed Gabriel as the two angels flew out of the beauty of nature and towards their respective calls.

Appearing at his destination, Castiel was confused when he looked around him to see Gabriel standing beside him. He was even more perplexed by the amused expression on Gabriel's face, until he realized what the angel was looking at.

The Winchesters.

Gabriel was standing at the foot of Sam's bed, and Castiel at the foot of Dean's.

A grin stretched over Gabriel's features, and he sent a thought towards Castiel.  _Let's take a peek at these dreams!_

 _Gabriel!_  Castiel scolded.  _That is an invasion of their privacy!_

 _Hey, they're calling us, remember?_  Gabriel pointed out.

It was a valid point, and Castiel was curious.  _Fine. We do not show ourselves though, and we do not let them know we are observing them._

Gabriel nodded, his eyes full of laughter at the commanding nature of Castiel's tone. Technically Gabriel was his superior, but when it came to the Winchesters, Castiel took the lead. After all, he was, in the most significant sense of the words, their guardian angel.

With concentration, the two angels stepped forward and laid a single finger on the head of the man who was calling to them, slowly entering the dream world the man was currently residing in.

* * *

Castiel was so shocked by what he was witnessing that he had to fight for the concentration to remain invisible and keep Dean from sensing his presence.

Dean was kissing him.

Well, it wasn't actually him, but it was certainly a very similar dream replica, and this version of Castiel seemed perfectly willing to engage in such activities with Dean.

Castiel couldn't help but watch, enraptured by the scene. Both men in the dream were in various stages of undress, and both had very visible erections.

"I can't believe we only do this in my dreams," Dean grumbled against Dream Castiel, kissing him again before finishing the sentence.

Castiel didn't exactly have any experience with this activity, but he and Dean did seem remarkably adept at it in this dream.

Dream Castiel was nodding in agreement as well. "You know why, Dean," he said, as though reminding Dean of a previous conversation.

Curiosity heightened, Castiel moved forward slowly, wondering what the reasoning was.

"Because I'm too much of a coward to say anything," Dean growled, as though furious with himself.

"And because I am an angel," Dream Castiel tacked on. "This is not even realistic."

Dean frowned and silenced him with a kiss. "It's a dream. Don't kill my buzz."

Castiel had to disagree with his dream counterpart. Dean was the single most important person in his existence. Truthfully, though he was unsure of the entirety of the concept, he knew he loved the hunter. He had never thought about a potential where that was realized as a relationship in quite as much detail as Dean seemed to have, but he had thought about it nonetheless. Every time he had ever watched any kind of television program with the Winchesters, he had wondered about physical intimacy as a sign of affection. It was true that angels did not necessarily crave for that, but Castiel was far more human in nature than anyone really gave him credit for, and he had definitely felt that hunger.

So, it seemed, had Dean.

* * *

Gabriel was quite distracted inside of Sam's mind as well, but he was not having concentration problems for the same reason as Castiel. Instead of being shocked, he was ecstatic and consumed with hilarity.

This was just too good.

The tall, strong, consistently angry hunter that had insisted that he found Gabriel unbelievably irritating was having a full out make out session with a dream version of the archangel.

The real Gabriel was thrilled. He had half a mind to just become the dream version and kiss Sam himself, but that seemed mildly unethical. It would be better to convince Sam to do this in real life.

"You know you're freaking gorgeous, right?" Dream Gabriel told Sam, barely pausing to get the words out before returning to kissing the hunter.

Real Gabriel rolled his eyes. While the statement was undeniably true, he wasn't sure he'd ever actually say it out loud like that.

"Shut up, Gabe," Sam said, blushing.

Maybe he should say it out loud. Gabriel was suddenly overwhelmed with a desire to see Sam blush like that outside of the dream world.

"Hey, don't knock it if it's true!" Dream Gabriel protested, running his lips across Sam's cheekbones.

A delicate shudder went through Sam's body, completely distracting the real Gabriel. Man, why had he never gone after Sam before? He knew the answer to that. Firstly, God had instructed him to watch over the Winchesters from afar, not court one of them. There was also the fear of rejection, since he and Sam had never really had much in the way of a friendly relationship. It was a heavy thing for an archangel to admit to fear, but it was what had stopped him from explaining to Sam how much he cared for him, at least with words. All he had managed to do was try to help Sam, although admittedly his attempts to help both Sam and Dean had not resulted in exactly what he had been hoping for.

Until tonight, he had been sure that neither Winchester cared a whit for him. Now, faced with a dream version of himself making out with a shirtless Sam, he felt a stirring of hope within his chest.

* * *

Waking up the next morning was a far more peaceful affair than the previous morning had been. For one thing, Dean didn't even open his eyes until around eight in the morning, which was practically luxury. Sam was just beginning to stir too, and Dean was pleased to see that his younger brother appeared well rested.

At the thought of sleep, it was as if a door opened and a flood of memories came back, revealing to Dean exactly what he had been dreaming about last night. His face went crimson just as Sam opened his eyes.

Dean's blush seemed to be the trigger on Sam's dream memories, and suddenly both Winchesters were bright red.

Sam managed to recover more quickly. "So," he coughed, trying to suppress his memories of the dream, "how do you feel?" He gestured towards the half empty bag of dream dust to make clear what he meant.

"Uh...well rested?" Was all Dean could manage. Images of himself and Castiel kissing were dancing before his eyes. That was just not acceptable. In his dreams was one thing, but dwelling on it when he was awake was a bad idea.

Similarly distracted, Sam was completely confused by the sudden increase in intensity of his dreams of Gabriel. Why on earth was he dreaming about kissing a dead archangel? It wasn't like the concept was new - he'd long since admitted his attraction to Gabriel within the safety of his dreams - but it had never been that intense and memorable of a dream before. He got out of bed and moved across the room to stretch his legs and try to distract himself.

"That stuff is weird," Dean finally managed to say, giving the dust a skeptical look as he got to his feet, stretching his arms and yawning.

"Really weird," Sam agreed. Rationally though, he added, "Still, no nightmares, right? I guess that counts for something."

"True," Dean said softly, his mind being drawn back into his dream again. "Definitely not a nightmare."

The rushing sound of wings that usually indicated the arrival of Castiel nearly knocked Dean over. As it was, it did startle him, and he whirled around, half expecting to see some kind of monster. He relaxed immediately and fought hard against the blush that threatened to envelop him. "Hey, Cas, what's up?"

"Dean," Castiel greeted him, his voice perhaps a touch warmer than what the humans were used to. "I have come to warn you." At the alarm on the brothers' faces, he quickly added, "Not of a danger. Someone is coming to see you, and I suggested that it might be more prudent were you forewarned of his arrival."

"Who's coming, Cas?" Sam asked curiously, nowhere near as affected by the angel's presence as his brother.

"SURPRISE!" Gabriel crowed, appearing behind Sam before Castiel could answer the question.

"HOLY -" Sam whirled around, confirmed with his eyes that the voice indeed belonged to Gabriel, and promptly managed to fall over a chair backwards onto his backside.

Gabriel stood over him, grinning widely. "Nice to see you too, Samsquatch!" He exclaimed, holding out a hand to help the tall hunter to his feet.

Dean, who was not even half as overwhelmed by Gabriel's presence as his brother, was still shocked. "Gabriel?" He asked, still not sure he was seeing properly. He turned to Castiel for reassurance, who nodded. "How are you alive?" He blurted, not really thinking about how rude that probably was.

"God," Gabriel and Castiel said in unison, leaving it at that.

"How long have you been back?" Sam asked, wondering at the sudden reappearance of the archangel.

"I was actually brought back immediately," Gabriel admitted. "I've been on an undercover assignment though."

Sam's eyes narrowed, irrationally upset at Gabriel's long absence. "Doing what?" He demanded.

"Watching you," Gabriel stated, enjoying the shock on Sam's face. "And Dean and Cas," he added as an afterthought.

"Why?" Dean asked, getting off the bed and standing next to Castiel, blatantly aware of the angel's proximity to him.

"God wanted me to," Gabriel said simply. "I watched out for you guys as you defeated Lucifer, and I've been trying to make sure you don't get yourselves killed, which is harder than it sounds."

"Wait, you were there? During the apocalypse?" Sam asked, disbelieving. "Were you there when I...?" He couldn't finish the sentence.

Gabriel's face softened. "Yeah, Sammy, I was there. Honestly, I was proud of you. That took some serious guts. Obviously we couldn't just leave you there though."

Castiel shot him a look of warning, not wanting to share that particular secret just yet, but Gabriel ignored it.

"When Cas insisted on rescuing you, I helped get him inside the cage and guarded the entrance while he saved you." Gabriel shrugged as if this was no big deal.

"It was you guys?" Sam asked, shocked. "Both of you? Why would you take that risk?"

Gabriel was again the one to answer, sharing more information than Castiel was ready to have revealed. "Cas did it for Dean, obviously, but I did it because I couldn't stand to leave you down there when I knew we could get you out."

Sam was staring open-mouthed at Gabriel, and Dean was giving a very similar expression to Castiel.

Glancing at the tension between Dean and Castiel, Gabriel smiled at Sam. "Maybe we should take our conversation elsewhere so they can talk." He tilted his head towards their brothers, and when Sam nodded he touched his forehead and the two disappeared.

"Wait, where'd Gabriel take my brother?" Dean demanded, scowling at the empty space where the archangel and younger hunter had disappeared.

Castiel was quiet for a moment, as though searching, before he returned his gaze to Dean's eyes. "Colorado."

* * *

Sam glanced around at the beautiful forest before joining Gabriel by the stream. "Nice place," he commented.

"Thanks," Gabriel replied with a chuckle. "There's a lot of moose around here; you'll fit right in."

Sam groaned and rolled his eyes. "I thought only Crowley called me that," he grumbled.

"It caught on," Gabriel said teasingly.

"So..." Sam said, not sure what he wanted to say.

"So...?" Gabriel echoed, turning the word into a question.

"So." Sam still wasn't sure what to say. "You've been alive for months, watching us in secret, and you saved me from the pit. Anything else I should know?" He meant the question rhetorically.

Figuring it was best to do this up front, Gabriel said casually, "I watched you dream last night."

There was a long pause.

Sam couldn't decide if he should respond with curiosity as to Gabriel's reaction or horror that his subconscious desires had been viewed so easily like that.

"Also," Gabriel added, "I can read your mind."

That caused a flash of irritation to cross Sam's face, which made Gabriel grin.

"What's so amusing?" Sam scowled. "I'm having the most awkward moment of my life over here."

"It's not that awkward," Gabriel disagreed. "I'm enjoying it."

"What enjoying making me squirm?" Sam accused.

"Well, yes," Gabriel admitted. "That's not what I meant though."

"What are you enjoying then?" Sam demanded, not sure he really wanted to know.

"Like I said, I can read your mind. You keep dwelling on your dream. I appreciate the playback." Gabriel grinned as Sam flushed crimson. "Dammit, Sam, if you're not careful I'm going to spend the rest of my existence finding ways to make you blush like that."

That comment did nothing to abate the flush in Sam's cheeks, and he couldn't think of a response. Hearing that Gabriel had enjoyed his dream was something he was still trying to figure out how to respond to.

"Well hey, here's an idea," Gabriel said brightly. "Why don't we just have ourselves a reenactment right now? Surely it'll make it less awkward for you if all parties present get to be involved this time, rather than just you."

Sam gaped at him. Had an archangel just proposed that they make out in a forest?

Yes, yes he had.

* * *

Dean couldn't use Sam's disappearance as an excuse to ignore Castiel's gaze for long, and eventually he found himself staring into the endless blue eyes of the angel.

Why was it so freaking hard to control himself all of a sudden? He had had similar dreams before, but he'd never had so much difficulty repressing them!

"You are uncomfortable," Castiel observed, watching as Dean sat down so he wouldn't stumble. The hunter was still darting his eyes away from the angel's face every few moments or so.

"Yeah...well, no...it's just...nothing, Cas, don't worry about it." Dean shifted awkwardly, trying to avoid the angel's gaze again.

"This is because of the dream," Castiel stated matter-of-factly.

Dean froze. No way. No way could Castiel know what he'd been dreaming about. He chanced a glance to the angel's face, and realized that Castiel wasn't actually looking at him for once. Instead, he seemed to lost in some distant thought, a smile playing around his lips.

Wait. Had his angel been watching Dean dream about them making out, and now he was enjoying the memory? Dean couldn't wrap his brain around that, and he skipped right over the fact that he had just thought of Castiel as his angel.

"If my presence makes things uncomfortable for you, I can leave," Castiel offered finally, though his voice sounded a bit dejected at the prospect.

"No!" Dean blurted, blood rushing to his cheeks again as he scrambled for more of a sentence to offer. "Don't worry about it, Cas, really. It's not uncomfortable, it's just...awkward."

Castiel tilted his head, confused. "What is awkward about it?" He asked.

The freaking head tilt. Dean wanted to kiss him it was so adorable. Trying to redirect his focus, he managed to ask, "Were you watching me dream last night, Cas?"

Immediately Castiel had the knowledge to look guilty. Technically it had been an invasion of privacy, but Dean didn't look upset. He still looked uncomfortable though. "Yes, Dean. I apologize for the intrusion."

"No, no worries. It's fine." Dean couldn't think of anything to add. What do you say when your angel best friend admits to watching you dream about making out with him?

"Perhaps repeating the scenario in a real environment would make the tension disperse," Castiel suggested.

Dean's head snapped up, his eyes locking with Castiel's. An angel had just asked if he wanted to make out.

He couldn't help it; Dean pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming this too.


	3. Relationships

Sam wasn't sure how to respond to Gabriel, who was wiggling his eyebrows at the hunter suggestively. "Since when have you even...?" Sam trailed off, his confusion over this sudden connection overpowering his thought.

Gabriel smirked. "Since when have you?" He countered.

Shooting Gabriel a bitch face, Sam moved to sit beside the archangel, thinking it over. "I don't really remember when the dreams started." He admitted. "It was awhile after the Mystery Spot though. I was unbelievably pissed, believe me, but I eventually understood what you were trying to do for me, and it just sort of grew I guess." He flushed as he spoke, but the color was a light pink as opposed to his previous bright red.

Gabriel gazed at him affectionately. "Well, then you already know when it started for me," he said lightly, a smile playing on his lips. "Why else would I go to so much trouble?"

Realization dawning, Sam tried to wrap his brain around what Gabriel was saying. "All that time, and you never said..." He murmured.

"Neither did you," Gabriel pointed out.

"I was trying not to," Sam admitted. "The dreams were casual, and I could repress them most of the time. I didn't really understand myself, I guess. Last night that..." He paused, remembering how vivid and real it had felt. "It was like some force made it impossible for me to overlook it anymore."

Grinning, Gabriel flung his arm around Sam's neck lazily. "I'm glad it did! Although, I am curious. What made you guys try that dream dust?" He had discovered the method the boys had used for dreaming from reading Sam's mind.

"We both have pretty constant nightmares," Sam admitted. "It was Dean's idea. He figured that getting a few nights of decent sleep would help us get back on our game. Not that we were off exactly, but dreaming of eternal torture every night is kind of draining."

Overwhelming sympathy flooded through Gabriel, and he used the arm around Sam's shoulder to pull him into a hug. "I'm sorry about your dreams," he said softly. "If I could cure you of nightmares, I would."

Not sure how to respond to the affection, Sam simply allowed himself to be held, letting his hands drift upwards until his fingers were in Gabriel's hair, massaging his neck and scalp.

Pulling back slightly so Sam could see his face, Gabriel flashed the hunter a mischievous smile and winked before moving in to press his lips to Sam's. Kissing the astonishingly tall man was every bit as wonderful as Gabriel had always envisioned it to be, and to his joy Sam responded immediately, kissing him back and tightening his grip on Gabriel's hair.

The sensations were so unbelievably perfect that Gabriel would have been content to continue on in this way forever, never moving. As Sam's lips parted to allow Gabriel's tongue access, it was clear that the feeling was mutual.

* * *

Dean stood slowly, crossing the room until he was right in front of his angel. All the times he had chastised Castiel's lack of courtesy when it came to the personal space of others seemed highly ironic now as he stood practically nose to nose with the angel. He was hesitant, gauging Castiel's reaction. Just because this had been the angel's idea didn't necessarily mean he was ready for such a thing to actually happen. He suspected that if he didn't do something now, then he'd find the time to freak out and it would never happen.

He needn't have worried. A fierce yearning burned in Castiel's eyes, and it was he that bridged the slim gap between them, taking Dean's head in one hand and moving the hunter closer until their lips joined.

Immediately Dean felt a rush like no other contact had ever given him. His arms flew up to encircle Castiel's neck and he pressed himself impossibly close to the smaller man, as though a starving man being presented with food for the first time.

Gasping in exhilaration, Castiel was the one to initiate the progression of the kiss, exploring Dean's mouth with his tongue and gnawing lightly on the hunter's bottom lip.

This small demonstration of Castiel's desires and ability to take control of the situation were overwhelming to Dean, who groaned in response to the angel's ministrations.

Castiel's eyes flashed open, the gleam in them almost predatory as he assessed the reactions of the hunter.

Meeting his eyes, the hunger in Dean's was enough to tip Castiel over the edge. With his unreal strength he picked the hunter up with one arm, not breaking the contact of their lips, and moved quickly to the bed, setting Dean down and pinning him there with a mere thought.

His erection straining against his jeans, Dean was breathing hard as he caught Castiel's gaze again, the ferocity in it nearly undoing him. "My god, Cas," he murmured.

Castiel smirked at that, the unusual facial expression suiting him. With another thought he whisked away Dean's shirt, and suddenly he had a whole lot more of the hunter to play with.

* * *

It had been hours, and Sam still couldn't get used to the way Gabriel was looking at him. It was as if somehow Sam had become Gabriel's everything, and Sam just couldn't fathom how that had happened. He knew the process that had led them to this point, but understanding the feelings between the two of them was so much harder than he would have imagined.

"This is so hard to believe," he finally admitted, blushing lightly as Gabriel played with his long brown hair.

"What, that this is happening?" Gabriel asked, distracted by how much hair Sam had. He could easily spend all day playing with his hair alone.

"Well, yeah," Sam confessed. "I mean, all we've got is my months of repressed emotions and your reluctance to speak up. Yet somehow, this happened." He gestured to the two of them to indicate his meaning.

"Think how Dean and Cas feel," Gabriel pointed out. At Sam's quizzical look he added, "They've got  _years_  of sexual tension to sift through."

That clarified things for Sam. He'd kind of assumed that was what was going on when Gabriel had taken him from the motel, but it hadn't been plainly stated. "Huh. You do have a point." His lips twitched as he thought about his brother and the angel. All that staring! He was somehow surprised that things hadn't come to a head sooner.

"We'll totally freak them out when we get back," Gabriel mused, his voice heavy with humor. "I've half a mind to arrive with confetti and a banner declaring that you're my boyfriend. Do you think Dean will hit me?"

Sam's eyebrows shot up, not sure what part of that to address first. "Boyfriend?" He finally asked, a smile playing on his lips so Gabriel would know he wasn't necessarily challenging the idea.

"I figured it was appropriate," Gabriel commented casually. "Trust me, I have a list of things I want to call you." He grinned cheekily.

Something about Gabriel's tone made Sam blush again. "I probably don't want to know," he said wryly.

"All in good time, kiddo, all in good time." With that, Gabriel made sure his lips effectively ended any further conversation.

* * *

Angel and hunter lay together on the bed, Castiel wrapped in Dean's arms. Both had been divested of their garments, and both were worn out from not only their first time making out, but their first time giving each other blowjobs as well. At first, Dean had worried that they were moving way too fast, but the surety with which Castiel took action assuaged his doubts.

"So what are we now?" Dean wondered aloud, his face snuggled in Castiel's hair, which smelled amazing.

"What do you mean?" Castiel inquired, pausing the satisfying humming noise he'd been quietly making.

"Well, I dunno, I guess I was wondering if there's a word for 'I just blew my angelic best friend.'" Dean felt awkward saying it, but at the same time it was perfect somehow. When had he become so sappy that little things like this made him emotional?

"I believe the term in popular culture is boyfriend," Castiel answered seriously. "If the concept is not what you wish to model, then we can by all means adopt a different term."

"No, it's fine," Dean assured him. "Trust me, I'm beyond cool with this. It's just...kind of hard to wrap my brain around, you know?"

Castiel chuckled. "It is sort of a dream come true," he pointed out.

Dean had to laugh at that. "I guess it is."

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

Dean glanced up at the door automatically, his eyes narrowing. Who could be knocking?

"It's Gabriel and Sam," Castiel answered his unspoken question. "Sam convinced my brother that merely appearing in the room could...I believe the expression was 'scar them for life?'" He made a question out of the last part, unsure what the meaning was.

Dean reluctantly pulled away from Castiel and out of the bed, chuckling at the comment. "Sam was afraid of walking in on us like this," he said, gesturing pointedly to the fact that he and the angel were not exactly clothed.

"Ah." Castiel made a noise of understanding. "In that case, I am grateful for the self controlling affect your brother appears to have on mine."

"Trust me, I am too. The thought of Gabriel just popping in here..." Dean made a face and jerked his jeans back on, pulling a t-shirt on and running his fingers through his hair. He glanced at Castiel, who was now sitting on the bed and dressed as though his clothes had never been off.

Opening the door, Dean was faced with a wary Sam and jubilant Gabriel, who pushed past Dean into the motel room.

"Hey, boys! How'd your talk go? Ours was  _awesome_!" Gabriel grinned and reclined on the other bed, wiggling his eyebrows at Sam suggestively.

Sam blushed and Dean figured he was better off not knowing.

Gabriel and Castiel were looking at each other meaningfully, and it took Dean a second to realize they must be communicating silently.

"WOOHOO!" Gabriel suddenly crowed, his grin brightening even further if that were possible. "Guess what, Sammy? Everyone's together!"

Sam flashed a look to Dean, who looked chagrined for a moment before the words really hit home. "Wait, what?" He spluttered. Rounding on his younger brother, he gave him the most withering look he was capable of. " _Gabriel_?" He demanded, his tone scathing.

"What?" Gabriel said, looking hurt.

"Relax, Dean. Gabe and I are...a thing now. I guess. Anyway, apparently you guys are too. Good for you. Took you long enough." Sam diverted attention back to Dean and Castiel on purpose, trying to take the spotlight away from his far more confusing relationship with Gabriel.

Castiel looked at Sam quizzically. "What is it that you mean, Sam?" He asked intently.

"Just, you know. You guys have had this crazy chemistry and tension since the beginning. You know, the whole profound bond thing. It's been obvious for ages." Sam felt awkward explaining himself.

Dean gaped at his brother, but Castiel merely nodded in understanding. "Yes, that makes sense. On my end there was certainly a significant amount of feelings, even before I had adapted enough to humanity to comprehend them."

Now entirely distracted by that revelation, Dean turned his attention to Castiel. "Really, Cas? Since the beginning?"

"Of course, Dean." Castiel replied, as though it should be obvious. "You have always been the most important human to me." He paused, then turned incrementally to Sam, looking embarrassed. "No offense, Sam."

"No, no worries," Sam insisted quickly, backing towards Gabriel and taking a seat. "I know what you mean." He was prevented from commenting further by Gabriel dragging him into a laying down position, similar to how Dean and Castiel had been before their brothers returned.

Dean relaxed, glancing at the two angels and his little brother, who seemed amused by his new position. "Man, this family is weird," he muttered, earning a twitch of the lips from Castiel and chuckles from Sam and Gabriel. "So, boyfriends all around then. Yeesh. Who gets to tell Bobby?"


	4. Home

Either by some freakishly specific act of God or mere coincidence, Bobby Singer called about an hour later to ask if the Winchesters wanted to stop by for a visit. In his own special way, he told them that it had been too long since he'd actually seen them and he missed them. It came out more like "You idjits haven't been here in months, and I can't take care of all this crap without a little help now and then!"

After agreeing to visit, since they were between jobs, the Winchester brothers were immediately thrust into a debate over transportation.

Sam did not really mind flying with angels. The feeling was sort of exhilarating, and it was a whole lot faster than driving.

Dean, on the other hand, protested vehemently any time Castiel offered to transport him anywhere, which was part of the reason Castiel rarely warned him before doing it.

"I can't just leave the Impala in the middle of nowhere," Dean offered as a deterrent to flying.

"I will drive with you, Dean, if do not wish to fly with Sam and Gabriel." Castiel added immediately, ignoring the eye roll from Gabriel.

"If it's just the car that stands in the way, I'll get it for you," Gabriel said exasperatedly. "I, for one, am not sitting in a car for days with you three. I also don't want to wait on you to get there. We should all surprise Bobby at once!"

Sam looked mildly concerned at the idea. "He's not exactly young, Gabe, let's not give him a heart attack, okay?" He insisted, looking at his new boyfriend seriously.

"I'm not going to jump out at him from behind a doorway, Samsquatch, lighten up!" Gabriel rolled his eyes at Sam and turned back to Dean. "Seriously, Dean, we're all flying. We could be there by now if you weren't being such a spoil sport."

"Dean does not like flying," Castiel informed Gabriel unnecessarily, standing closer to his hunter in solidarity, despite the fact that he thought Dean was being unreasonable as well.

"No kidding," Gabriel said sarcastically. "How about this then? If you don't come with us now, then not only will I not deliver your Impala, I'll start removing vital bits." His glower was threatening, but a mischievous light in his eyes betrayed his amusement.

"If you even think about touching my car..." Dean started to threaten, but he was interrupted by Castiel.

"Dean, please, may we simply fly? I promise if you feel sick I will put you back in proper health." Castiel's eyes were warm and sincere.

Gazing at his angel, Dean suddenly found himself at a loss for any further argument. It was probably in his best interests to not lose his train of thought when looking into Castiel's eyes, but he couldn't seem to remember what his problem with the idea was.

"Great, now that that's settled, let's get out of here before you two get naked or something." Gabriel leaned forward to make contact with Dean and Castiel before they could really react to what he had said, and all four men vanished.

"Dammit, Gabriel!" Dean cursed, blinking rapidly and breathing deeply. It took him a minute to realize Gabriel wasn't standing in front of him, but the archangel reappeared a moment later lounging across the hood of the Impala.

"See? Wasn't that easier?" Gabriel grinned and got off the car, moving forward to take Sam's hand, which the hunter surrendered easily, blushing just slightly.

Dean made a face. "Oh yeah, I'm just peachy," he said with a scowl.

"Do you feel ill, Dean?" Castiel asked with concern.

After a moment's hesitation, Dean reluctantly answered, "...no."

"Then what is the problem?" Castiel asked, confused. He had always found humanity at large to be perplexing, but perhaps none more so than his own human charge, who grew irritated for seemingly no reason.

Rather than answer, Dean just grumbled and started marching towards Bobby's front door, determined to get inside and find everyone a new subject to discuss.

Sam chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Cas. Dean just gets grumpy sometimes."

"I am aware of his mood swings," Castiel acknowledged.

"Dude!" Dean protested, still within hearing range. He glanced back over his shoulder and scowled at Sam and Castiel. "Don't talk about me like I'm some PMSing chick!"

There was a pause, then Sam and the two angels burst into laughter.

The front door of Bobby's house swung open, revealing the older hunter, who looked thoroughly confused. "Boys?" He called, immediately attracting their attention.

"Hey, Bobby!" Sam called cheerfully, thoroughly aware of Gabriel's hand in his. That was going to be interesting to explain.

Bobby hadn't ever met Gabriel personally, but he had been there the first time Sam and Dean ran into him as the Trickster, and he knew enough about the archangel from what Sam and Dean had told him after their various run ins.. His eyes drifted to Dean for a moment, who had taken Castiel's hand as well, clearly a little nervous.

"Sam, Dean. Angels." Bobby said gruffly, nodding to them as he spoke. "I wasn't really expecting you for a few days, but I guess heavenly travel is faster, huh?"

"They wouldn't let me drive," Dean offered by way of explanation, his petulant tone earning himself a look of exasperation from Castiel and Gabriel.

"So..." Bobby let the word trail off, looking pointedly at the joined hands between men to make it clear what question he had formed in his mind.

Gabriel spoke up first, which was not a surprise. "It's nice to finally meet you, Bobby! Sammy talks about you all the time!" He pulled Sam into a firm side hug as he spoke, which resulted in the much larger man turning crimson. That had quickly become Gabriel's favorite game, to do something that would trigger a blush in his boyfriend.

"Uh-huh." Bobby replied, raising an eyebrow as he leveled his gaze at his younger adopted nephew.

"Uh...surprise?" Sam managed to say, grinning sheepishly.

"And you two?" Bobby asked, turning his gaze to Dean and Castiel.

"Uh...yeah." Dean replied, understanding the unspoken question.

Bobby pointed at the older Winchester and his angel and nodded. "You two I get." Turning to point at Sam and Gabriel he added, "You two are a surprise." He continued staring for a second before asking Gabriel in a confused tone, "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

* * *

Once Bobby, the Winchesters, and the angels were all inside and seated on the couch, explanations were demanded and given.

As soon as he was up to speed, Bobby relaxed in his chair and chuckled. "I'll admit, you've definitely pulled a new one, boys. I mean, I didn't even know either of you were...well...you know..." He shifted uncomfortably.

Picking up on where Bobby was going with that, Dean vehemently shook his head. "No, no! We aren't! Or at least, I'm not." He looked briefly at Sam, who vigorously shook his head as well, and gestured towards Sam as confirmation. "Definitely not gay."

"Right," Bobby said sarcastically. "And the male angels you've both decided to shack up with are what, the exception to the rule?" He rolled his eyes and snorted.

"Well...now that you put it like that...yeah, they are." Sam admitted, glancing at Gabriel, who was watching the exchange with mild curiosity. "I mean, angels don't really even have a gender per se. Gabriel just happens to be in a male vessel, and that's his preference. It isn't men, for me, it's just...him." He had gone red by the time he finished the last sentence, causing Gabriel to pull him in for a small kiss. Sam smiled in response, still pink from the eyes on him.

"Ditto what he said," Dean added less eloquently. "Trust me, it's definitely not dudes. It's just...Cas, you know?" He snuck a glance at Castiel, who was watching him with a small smile on his lips.

"Still not what I'd have expected," Bobby pointed out. "I guess if you guys are happy though..."

"We are," the boys said in unison, giving each other smiles as they spoke.

"Good. Now, would you happy couples like to cuddle or work a case?" There was a full blown smirk on Bobby's face as he spoke, his adopted nephews both turning a little pink at the comment.

"C'mon, Bobby! Can't we do both?" Gabriel asked, earning chuckles from the others.

"Boys, I'd like for you to take a look at this one. If you've got misters Stoic and Sarcastic with you it ought to be easy." Bobby gestured to Castiel and Gabriel as he spoke to indicate which one was which.

"Mister Stoic?" Castiel stage whispered to Dean, probably unaware that he wasn't truly whispering. "Is that a reference to something?"

Chuckling, Dean replied, "No, dude, you're just like the poster boy for stoicism."

Gabriel didn't have any trouble grasping his own nickname, and seemed to find it highly amusing. "I'd love to work a case," he enthused. "What is it?"

Bobby rolled his eyes and produced a news article from the desk behind him. "Demons, of course. When do we get anything else anymore?" He handed Sam a handful of internet print outs along with the original news article that had alerted him, explaining as he did so. "It's only about an hour from here, all typical demonic signs, at first." He picked up another stack and handed them to Castiel, who began to peruse them quickly. "Those ones though, they ain't normal."

"Here, Cas, let me see those," Sam said, trading stacks of paper with the angel. After glancing over the information for a moment, his eyebrows shot up. "Well that's unusual."

"What is?" Gabriel asked, his tone grumpy at not being filled in immediately. He tried to peer over Sam's shoulder, but couldn't see well.

Sam's lips twitched in response, but he shifted the papers so Gabriel could read as well, explaining to Dean as he did so. "So there's all the classic weather stuff, but for whatever reason there's also been random outbreaks of mass hysteria and rioting. Obviously, since we know demons are there, that's not exactly weird, but what is weird is that all of the craziness has been done in the name of achieving peace in the town. The people don't even know about the demons, apparently, they just decided that in order to attain perfect peace they had to raze the town to the ground."

Gabriel's eyebrows shot up. "Sounds like my kind of party."

"It does not sound like a party to me," Castiel countered with a frown.

Gabriel shot him a disparaging look but didn't otherwise comment.

Bobby ignored the exchange and grabbed the print outs back from Sam and Castiel, spreading them out on the desk. "What I'd like to know is why demon activity is resulting in an insane craze for peace. Demons and chaos I get, but the peace vibe is weird. I didn't want to do this one alone, so I figured once you boys got here you could take a look."

"Yeah, sure, Bobby," Dean agreed. "You're coming, right? We haven't had a chance to hunt with you in ages."

Bobby looked at him appraisingly for a moment before nodding. "As long as you boys don't start lip locking on the job, I'll come," he said, his tone surly.

Castiel gave the old hunter an uncharacteristic smile and moved forward to pat Bobby's shoulder. "We shall do our best to ensure you are not in an awkward position," he assured him.

Dean and Sam both went a little pink, but nodded earnestly. Neither of them were really eager to have any kind of intense physical contact in front of their adopted father figure anyway.


	5. Hunting

Despite Dean's protestations, the hunting party was transported to the town in question by angels yet again. Bobby smacked his shoulder to get him to shut up when they landed, pointing out that, if nothing else, his loud cursing might alert any demons in the area to their arrival. "It'd be nice to have some element of surprise," Bobby added wryly.

Castiel had gone surprisingly quiet when they landed, and his expression betrayed an attitude of intense concentration.

As soon as Dean noticed Castiel's focus, he glanced towards Gabriel, who Sam was already waving his hand in front of.

"Gabe? Earth to Gabe, come in short stuff." Sam snapped his fingers, looking puzzled.

Gabriel shook his head and glanced up at Sam, his expression petulant. "Short stuff?" He demanded.

Sam smirked and glanced over to Castiel, who was still zoned out. "Cas?" He called.

"What's got you two going spacey all of a sudden?" Dean muttered, shaking Castiel a little to jolt him out of his stupor.

"The demons," Castiel answered, finally snapping his eyes to Dean's face.

"What about them?" Sam asked.

Gabriel made a face. "These are high level demons. That's why the signs are so bizarre. The higher the demon in rank, the more self control they have. There's a plan at work here, not just random demon activity."

"Balls," Bobby muttered, a sentiment which the Winchesters clearly agreed with, if the expressions on their faces were any indication.

"Where do we start?" Sam wondered, giving the town in front of them a thoughtful once over. It would be foolish to go in without a plan, especially when it was clear that they were dealing with some level of organization on their enemy's end.

"The demons to do not have a headquarters," Castiel informed them. "Their presence is scattered throughout the town."

"Detectable though," Gabriel added. "I say we pick one up and do some interrogation. Figure out what their plan is before we make a counter plan."

Dean cocked his gun and his expression settled into what Castiel had heard him refer to as the 'blue steel.' "Let's go nab a demon then."

* * *

Castiel was concerned at how easy it had been to apprehend the demon they currently had trapped. Of course, three hunters, an angel, and an archangel were more than a match for a simple demon, but it had still been remarkably easy to accomplish.

"What's the plan here?" Dean demanded, a jug of holy water in hand that he had been periodically pouring on the demon's face whenever their captive got testy. Sam stood to his right, Ruby's knife twirling in his fingers.

"Like I'd tell you," the demon said sarcastically. It was inside of a middle aged man with a bald spot, and the disgusted look on his face as he watched the hunting party quickly turned to one of eternal torment when Dean went at him with the holy water again.

"Stubborn bastard, isn't he?" Bobby grunted, handing Dean a new jug of holy water as the older Winchester emptied out the previous one into the demon's mouth.

"ALL RIGHT!" The demon howled, glaring at the hunters. "It's just a stepping stone, okay? Nobody actually cares about South Dakota."

"Then what are you doing here?" Bobby demanded, scowling at the slight against his state.

The demon scowled. "Let's just say this is a testing phase."

"Testing what?" Castiel asked, stepping closer and allowing the demon the tiniest glimpse at the power of his grace, which had the demon cowering faster than anything the hunters had tried.

"No, get away from me!" The demon freaked out, shrinking away from the angel as much as he was able in the confines of the trap. "We're just trying some new tactics, okay? Training new demons, that kind of thing. We send in the big guns, figure out some new battle plans, then teach the troops. If we don't switch it up every so often, we get too predictable."

Gabriel nodded. That made sense, and it wasn't the first time he'd come across demons doing something similar. At skeptical glances from the rest of the hunting party, he gave them a reassuring nod. "It's not really a new practice," he told them. Turning to the demon, he asked, "So what's the point of this tactic?"

The demon glared at him petulantly, refusing to answer again.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you're scared of Cas over here, but not me? You must be a lot dumber than you look, ugly."

Sam cracked a smile at that and patted Gabriel's shoulder. "Don't take it personally, Gabe. Demons aren't the sharpest tools in the shed."

The archangel made a face at Sam and turned back to the demon. "Regardless..." he muttered, stepping forward and imitating what Castiel had done, only revealing far more of his inherent power.

The demon shrank back further, shaking more than should be possible for anyone. "No, no, no, no..." he whimpered, sheer terror taking over his face.

"What is this tactic for?" Gabriel demanded again, his voice crackling with the raw power he possessed. 

"Herding cattle!" The demon bellowed, desperate not to be on the archangel's bad side. "We make the people desperate for peace and tranquility, to the point where they do anything to get it. They don't realize they're really creating chaos, because everything they do is to further their personal quest for peace."

"Ah," Sam made a noise of understanding. "I get it."

Dean gave his brother an impatient look. "Share with the rest of the class?"

"Right, sorry. Look, what he's saying is that the demons are creating an environment of complete chaos, but it's like herding cattle because the people just go right along with it, thinking they're creating happiness." Sam explained with a certain amount of animation, pleased that they had figured out what was going on. "It's a new one on me, but I guess that was kind of the point."

The demon nodded in agreement, but didn't speak further.

"So, what, we just have to clean house and this will be over?" Dean asked, glancing between Sam and the demon as though not sure who would answer the question.

"Not just yet," a new voice said.

Whirling towards the new sound, Sam's hand tightened on the demon blade as he saw the new arrivals. Three heavy weight demons had arrived, and they looked ready for a fight.

"We've got a few other plans up our sleeves," another voice said, causing the hunting party to turn to the right, where an additional four demons had just walked in.

"This isn't just about abusing humanity," another demon said with a chuckle.

The hunting party reluctantly acknowledged the arrival of another three demons to their left. They were surrounded, and even Castiel and Gabriel looked uncomfortable.

"Well, boys, I'd say we found our demons," Bobby muttered.

The hunting party tensed, each angel moving imperceptibly closer to their respective lover and both of the Winchesters shifting automatically to cover Bobby. The older hunter huffed at them, but it was affectionate, and he didn't try to move them away.

The demons chuckled, sauntering forward until they were far too close for comfort. "This was never just about testing new techniques," one of them ridiculed, his tone suggesting the plan should be obvious.

"Then why have you gathered here?" Gabriel demanded, his normally jovial tone replaced with one of intensity and purpose. The threat to Sam and the others had him on the defensive, and he was a force to be reckoned with.

Rather than answer the archangel, the demons all lifted their heads skywards, chanting in unison.

"That's not creepy at all," Dean muttered under his breath. He darted forward to attack the closest demon, but was repelled backwards, nearly falling over as he stumbled away from the demon. "What the hell?!" He growled.

"Dean, do not approach them. They are performing a powerful ritual. You could be hurt," Castiel said urgently, reaching out to grasp Dean's shoulder in concern.

"What kind of ritual?" Bobby asked, his voice flat with the tone of someone who couldn't be surprised anymore.

"I am not-" Castiel disappeared mid-sentence with no sign to indicate where he'd gone, not even the whoosh that typically accompanied his arrival and departure.

"CAS!" Dean bellowed, staring with horror at the spot where the angel had simply vanished. He turned to the demons, anger filling him slowly and strongly. "You sons of bitches bring him back!"

"Dean, wait," Sam tried to calm him down, attempting to be the voice of reason. "We don't know what they're doing yet. We can't help Cas until-" The rest of the sentence was cut off as Sam abruptly disappeared.

"SAMMY!" Dean hollered desperately, whirling around to face Gabriel and Bobby, only to realize that Gabriel had vanished too. "What the hell, Bobby? Where-"

Bobby gaped as all of the demons and Dean simply vanished before his eyes. He turned around slowly, examining the empty room. "Dammit."

* * *

Sam woke up with a groan, but his headache was quickly forgotten when he realized he was in chains. He didn't even remember falling asleep, let alone being taken captive, but apparently he'd missed something pretty important.

A cramped cage, not nearly big enough for the tall hunter, was currently holding him captive, and his legs and arms were chained to the bars at opposite ends in the most uncomfortable position possible. It was that realization that caused him to notice that he had been stripped down to his boxer briefs, and a sudden chill ran through him. At least he still had minimal coverage, so that was something.

Glancing around the room the cage was in, Sam could see various sigils all over the walls, most of which he didn't recognize. A tool bench to his right contained a myriad of devices he didn't want to consider the use of.

"Ah, my new toy is awake!" A delighted voice exclaimed the words as the demon came into view. She had dirty blonde hair and was shapely, her large chest accentuated by the curve-hugging pink dress she wore.

"Where the hell am I?" Sam demanded, furious as the pieces of his predicament started to form a complete picture.

"Tut, tut," the demon cooed. "It's my job to make you suffer, not answer your questions. You Winchesters and your angels. You know you guys are a pain in our collective ass? Now we've finally got you all where we want you, and no one can ever find you." She gestured to the walls as if to prove a point. "See these? Mostly Enochian. Even if one of your angels managed to free himself, you're impossibly hidden. We've got your brother in the same situation on the other side of the world, and you don't even want to know how we've got your angels locked up." She chuckled and walked over to the tool bench, humming a cheery melody to herself.

Sam felt sick. He had been with Gabriel for way too short a time for something like this to threaten to separate them forever. "What exactly are you planning to do to me?" He asked, his tone betraying no ounce of fear.

"Oh, sweetheart," the demon said with a laugh. "What you should really be asking is when I'm going to let you die." With a wicked grin she held up a cattle prod and walked quickly over to his cage. Without any ceremony she stuck it through the bars, catching Sam in his stomach.

To his credit, Sam did not scream. He hissed and gritted his teeth, but he didn't scream. He had far too fresh memories of the cage to be caught off guard by a mere demon who thought she had the market cornered on torture.

"Oh, Sam, we're just getting started, you and me. That was just the sample. Now you get to try the meal." The demon turned around again to show him a heated iron, the tip glowing red hot. "I think we should start by decorating some of that canvas of yours."

* * *

Dean was about as far away from his brother as he could be, and even further still from his angel. He was chained in a spread eagle position to crossbeams, and he was completely naked. When he had awoken to discover that, he had panicked, and the skin around his wrists and ankles was red and bloody from his struggles. Once he had realized that he couldn't escape the chains, he had given up in favor of not causing more damage.

He had already tried yelling for help and just plain shouting for the sake of causing a raucous, but the gag in his mouth prevented that from being effective.

He'd almost begun struggling again just for the sake of it when he became aware enough to observe the cart of tools beside the crossbeams he was chained to. Nearly all of them had some kind of sexual purpose, and he was more than a little afraid of what exactly his captors were planning.

A thin man, clearly possessed by a demon, strode into the room after Dean had finished assessing his situation, his eyes glinting with pleasure as he took in Dean's trussed up form. "Well, well, well, I finally have myself a Winchester. Nice to meet you, Dean!" He chuckled at the murderous expression on the hunter's face. "Yeah, not so nice I guess. Do you have any idea what I'm going to do to you?" He grinned as he drew close to the hunter, laying a hand on the man's exposed genitals, petting him roughly.

Fear and anger were pulsing through Dean's system in equal measure, but the touch of the demon added a new flavor of chagrin to the mix. His cock was responding to the man's touch, which was anything but gentle, and Dean found to his horror that he couldn't stop it.

"We're going to have a lot of fun," the demon assured him. "It's my job to torture you, and I have a special way of doing that. When I'm finished, you'll be a quivering mess on the floor, completely ruined for anyone else. You know why? Because I'm going to destroy you in every intimate way I can, Dean Winchester. And you know what? I don't think I'll ever be finished with you."

Panic began to overpower Dean once more as he saw the demon reach towards the cart for an excessively large vibrator. Something told him not to expect any prep, and if the look of glee the demon wore was any indication, he was right.

* * *

Castiel was chained by his hands and feet to a ring in the middle of a cage, the walls of which were permanently burning with holy fire. The Enochian sigils on all the walls were specifically designed to weaken him, and the combination of all these factors made him completely helpless. The fire was licking dangerously close to him, singeing his skin, but he could not avoid it or heal himself due to the sigils. The hunched over position he was forced into by his bonds left him exposed, and his trench coat had been torn away from him at some point, leaving him in only the flimsy suit of his vessel. The coat was across the room, laying in a heap, and Castiel eyed it longingly, despite knowing that it could no better protect him than the suit.

A horde of demons guarded him, taking turns lashing the captured angel with whips or carving into him with his own angel blade. There was a doorway behind him that let them in and out as they traded places tormenting him. The back of his suit was already in tatters.

Despite his situation, the tear that managed to escape the angel's eye was not for himself. If this was his capture, what hell was his love in?

* * *

Gabriel was roaring at the demons who had him restrained, his fury causing them to cower even as they doubled checked his chains and the holy fire he was entrapped by. His set up was different from Castiel's, but the effect was the same. His power was virtually nonexistent, and his skin was dangerously close to burning from the fire. The largest difference between his torture and Castiel's, however, was that the demons had seen to his wings as well.

They had been forcefully manifested behind him, all six of them, and stabbed through to the wall with stolen angel blades. Fire licked around the bottom of them, turning the bottom most feathers black.

It became the demons favorite game to see just how many screams they could force from the archangel by focusing their attentions on his wings.

Gabriel's fury was not for himself. He channeled all his energy into being terrified for Sam.


	6. Help

After about three days, Gabriel was forced to acknowledge that his odds of escaping and rescuing the others were virtually nonexistant. He was desperate though. Gabriel had forged with Sam a similar connection to what Dean and Castiel had always had, and as a result Gabriel could sense Sam at all times. As awful as his own situation was, it was far overshadowed by the fact that he could sense that Sam was in  _pain_.

It was clear from the emotional flares he could feel from the hunter that Sam was being tortured, but the young hunter was also virtually panicking over something other than his own situation. Gabriel knew it was his and their brothers situations that had Sam so worried, and he was in awe of the fact that Sam could be so thoroughly distracted from his own situation by his concern for others. He could hear Sam praying in fits and starts, desperate to know if Gabriel was even alive, and what had happened to Dean and Castiel as well. His pain and worry had not abated over the three days they had been help captive. The fact that Gabriel currently had no means of escape haunted him, and that knowledge was just as painful as the blades pinning his wings to the wall.

Thankfully, the allure of antagonizing the archangel had faded after a few days, and the demons had mostly left Gabriel to suffer on his own. He spent most of that time praying to his Father. He was not praying for release, because he was far from concerned for his own safety at this point. Instead he prayed for Sam. He prayed that Sam would be safe and would know that Gabriel was alive. He prayed that Castiel was safe, that his little brother would not suffer in the way Gabriel was. He prayed for Dean, asking that the chucklehead not give in to torture and be protected from this trial. He even prayed for Bobby, that the older hunter was safe, and hopefully not in captivity as well. For days, Gabriel prayed, but never once did he pray for himself.

After one week of captivity, Gabriel found himself in a dream state. He looked around himself, confused for a moment as he wondered where his bindings had disappeared to. After a pause, he realized that the bright light of this dream was caused by the presence of God. A warm feeling filled him, and without words God communicated to him the message he needed to know, as he had done so many times before when Gabriel was His messenger. The light began to fade, and Gabriel came back to consciousness in the warehouse, freed. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was not free for himself, but because he had a duty to save the others. His Father had rewarded his selfless prayers.

It took a minute for Gabriel to get used to being free. The holy oil flames had vanished, and the blades that had pierced his wings were laying on the ground, stained with his blood. He stretched his wings experimentally, nervous about their condition. There was some soreness, and he would probably be scarred, but he could feel his grace recovering, and his wings would heal. Focusing for a moment, he tried to determine if his grace was sufficient enough to wipe out the demons in this building. With a burst of gratitude towards his Father as his power surged within him, Gabriel adjusted his bloody and stained cargo jacket, using a modicum of grace to clean his attire. Looking very nearly pristine, Gabriel strode out the door in search of the demons. He tucked his wings away as well. While they were a useful intimidation tool, he was understandably a little nervous about leaving them out any longer than was necessary.

It was clear that the demons were not expecting him, and Gabriel had smote all but one within seconds. This final demon he held in an unbreakable hold, his eyes blazing as he restrained himself from killing the demon. "Where are the others?" He demanded.

"I don't know!" The demon squealed in fear, trying in vain to smoke out. A simple thought from Gabriel kept him trapped in his host.

"You're lying," Gabriel said, his voice low and threatening. He allowed the demon to view just the smallest amount of his grace, forming it into a piercing light that cut the demon.

Screaming in response, the demon went limp. "I don't know where they all are," he said in defeat. "The youngest Winchester is somewhere in California. I don't know where the older one is, but I think they were going to hold the other angel in India."

"Where am I now?" Gabriel demanded, not being able to get a good read on his location. The sigils in the warehouse were keeping him from fully taking possession of all the abilities he would normally have with his grace. It would easier once he left.

"Madagascar," the demon said sullenly.

"Thank you," Gabriel said sarcastically. He allowed his grace freedom then, and the demon slumped to the floor, dead. He quickly walked out the front door, reveling in the free air and the absence of the binding sigils. He had to decide on a priority. He could look for Castiel or Sam with the information he had. How could he choose? He could feel Castiel's pain now that he was free of the sigils, and his brother's cries were piercing. By that same token, however, his connection to Sam was less muted as well, and he knew the hunter could not survive long in this state. With a prayer of apology directed towards his brother, Gabriel took flight, headed for California.

* * *

If Sam was proud of any of his accomplishments, he was the most proud of how stoic he had been able to remain during his torture sessions. For every burning, sharp, or electric object the demon attacked him with, Sam steeled himself and never let out a more violent reaction than a hiss. He knew that the point of this was to break him, and he would not allow that to happen. He had to stay strong, in case he was able to escape and rescue the others. He knew with an unpleasant certainty that Dean, Castiel, and Gabriel had all been taken, but he was hoping that Bobby had at least gotten free. If he could only manage to escape, he could join up with Bobby and free everyone else. At least, that was his plan.

Whenever a torture session was occurring, Sam focused all of his energy into praying to Gabriel. He didn't so much pray for rescue as he did for the archangel's safety. If this was his state, who knows what they were doing to his angel? Every so often Sam added in as a bonus 'and if you happen to escape, maybe you could come get me?' into his prayers, but he tried his hardest not to worry the archangel. Sam knew that Gabriel could feel his emotions through the connection they had forged, and he didn't want Gabriel to waste his time and energy worrying about Sam instead of himself.

A week of various tortures had resulted in a withered and scarred Sam, his body peppered with burn marks and slashes from various forms of knives. A pool of blood surrounded his cage, most of it dry. The smell was nauseating. He was trying to get some rest, but the way he was chained made that nearly impossible. His eyes were heavy from lack of sleep, since he normally only managed to rest when the torture knocked him out. The first night Sam had fallen unconscious, he had found blissful relief in an amazing dream world where he and Gabriel were safe and happy, relaxing while curled against each other in the most beautiful forest Sam had ever seen. He knew in the back of his sleeping mind that it was a residual effect of the dream dust, but he was so relieved that he couldn't bring himself to care. It didn't last, however, and any time after that that he managed to sleep was normal. The dust had worn off. It was times when he was exhausted when he was most tempted to cry out for Gabriel, but he knew it wouldn't really work, and if Gabriel was hearing him, it would only cause the archangel more pain. The few sigils on the walls he did recognize were designed to keep angels out, so even if by some miracle Gabriel came looking for him, he would not be able to save him.

His personal tormentor had left for the day, so when Sam heard footsteps he was surprised. Glancing up blearily, he saw a man he didn't recognize walk into the room carrying a large ladder. He was wearing some sort of janitor's uniform, and Sam realized that he must be a professional painter of some kind when he saw the various paintbrushes hanging from the man's belt.

"Who are you?" Sam croaked, his voice hoarse from a combination of lack of sleep and water.

"I am busy," the man replied in a monotone, his expression vacant. He set up the ladder in front of a sigil that was high up the wall, then promptly climbed his ladder and pulled out a small can of paint, proceeding to cover the sigil in white paint.

Completely confused, Sam followed the man around the room with his eyes, watching as the man continued to cover up seemingly random sigils without saying a world. After a little while of this, Sam decided the man wasn't an immediate threat, bizarre as his actions were, and relaxed as much as he was able. Moaning softly, he let his eyes droop closed, hoping to get some rest. Sleep was hard to come by. He was distantly aware of footsteps that he assumed meant the painter was leaving, and Sam wondered vaguely what exactly the point of all that had been. He wasn't conscious enough  to care, so he didn't bother opening his eyes again.

"Oh God, Sam!"

He was dreaming. Sam let a small smile appear on his face as Gabriel entered his dreams.

"Sam, are you with me? Wake up, Sammy, please!"

Confused, Sam didn't know how to react. Gabriel was never upset in his dreams. The panic in the archangel's voice was just wrong.

"Dammit, Sam! I didn't go to all this trouble to rescue a corpse! Wake up, kiddo, come on!"

Understanding flooded Sam like a rush of cold water, and his eyes flew open again to see his archangel ripping the door off his cage and popping the locks on his shackles with a touch. The archangel pulled Sam's damaged body out, laying a calming hand on his head and rocking him softly. He was incensed by the fact that Sam was only in boxer briefs, but ignored it for the time being, focusing on making sure the hunter was all right.

"Gabe?" Sam murmured, relaxing into his angel's familiar shape.

"I'm here, Sammy," Gabriel said softly. With a thought, he flew them away from the horrifying torture chamber, landing in a motel room somewhere in Illinois. He spared a quick thought to making sure they were effectively checked in. Someone walking in on them right now would not be welcome.

"Where...?" Sam glanced around, confused, then seemed to give up, relaxing against Gabriel again with a small murmur of contentment.

"Don't worry, Samsquatch, we're far away from that place. Hang on, I'm going to try and heal some of this for you, okay?" Gabriel winced as he began to inventory Sam's many wounds.

"M'kay," Sam said with a sigh, too relieved by Gabriel's presence to really care what happened now. His exhaustion was now taking him over.

Taking a deep breath, Gabriel passed his hand over his hunter's body, relaxing as more and more of the wounds vanished. To his irritation, several of the nastier slashes had left scars, but upon further inspection he realized they had been made with cursed blades. Sam might eventually lose the scars, but only if he kept in pretty constant contact with Gabriel's grace. He slowly stroked Sam's side until he was satisfied that the hunter was essentially healthy again.

"Feels good," Sam muttered, stretching a little and wrapping his arms around Gabriel's neck. "Are you okay?" He asked sleepily.

Gabriel didn't answer at first, pulling back the blankets of the bed and tucking Sam underneath, clothing him a t-shirt and sleep pants with a thought. He smoothed the man's hair away from his face and sighed as a look of contentment settled on Sam's face. "I'll be fine, Sammy." He finally answered.

"That's good," Sam managed to reply. "Get into bed," he added, making it sound like a demand.

A smile threatening at the corner of his lips, Gabriel slipped into bed with Sam, clutching the hunter as close to himself as he could and allowing his wings to become invisible shields around them. "You're safe, Sam," he repeated.

"I know," Sam said happily, his words slurred with sleep. "How'd you find me?"

"The usual," Gabriel said casually. "Interrogated a demon, did some research, interrogated a different demon, hypnotized a man with my grace, and broke into a torture facility." His expression went dark for a second before clearing. "I'm glad I got to you in time."

"The others?" Sam managed to ask.

"I have it on good authority that my brother is in India somewhere," Gabriel said reluctantly, "but I don't know where Dean is. I'm sorry, Sam."

Sam nodded, as if he'd been expecting something like that. "S'okay," he muttered sleepily, pushing himself further into Gabriel's embrace. "We'll find them, Gabe, promise."

Gabriel simply nodded, a small smile settling on his face at the tortured hunter's attempts to comfort his archangel. "Sleep now, Sam."

"What about my nightmares?" Sam asked, concerned.

Pursing his lips, a thought suddenly occurred to Gabriel and he held up a small drawstring bag by way of answer.

"The dream dust?" Sam asked, surprised. The effects of the last time he'd used it had long since worn off.

"Peaceful dreams, Sammy," Gabriel promised. "This will help you sleep."

Nodding in agreement, Sam took a deep breath of the dust and relaxed back onto the pillows, sighing happily. Within seconds he was breathing deeply, the haunted look to his face starting to fade away.

Gabriel found himself relaxing as well, and took a calming breath. One rescue had gone well, at least. He could only hope that finding Castiel and Dean would be no greater challenge.

Before Gabriel could fall into a restful stupor of his own, a thought occurred to him and he almost smiled wide. Sam would be proud of him when he heard in the morning. Focusing, Gabriel projected himself into a mind several states away.

* * *

Bobby rolled over, his sleep restless. He hadn't been able to do a damn thing since his adopted sons and their angels had vanished, and the barely disguised panic had been eating away at him.

"Bobby," a calm voice penetrated his troubled dreams, transporting him to a calm field and manifesting as Gabriel.

"Gabriel?" Bobby asked skeptically glancing around. "I'm still in my head, right?"

"Right," Gabriel confirmed. "Thank God you're not captured too. That'll be a big help. I wanted you to know that I escaped. God set me free from my chains, and I've got Sam back. I have a lead on Cas, but not Dean. When you get a chance, any research you have on demonic omens in India will help us find my brother. Perhaps the demons there will be able to shed light on Dean."

Rather than question the archangel further, Bobby just nodded. "Omens in India, gotchya. Tell Sam I said hey, and I'm glad you're both safe. Don't ever do that to me again, either. All four of you just vanished in front of me, leaving me standing all by myself without even a damn demon to fight off. Scared the hell out of me."

Smiling in reassurance, Gabriel faded out of Bobby's head and back into his own, still nestled with Sam in Illinois.


	7. Faith

When Sam woke up the next morning, the only thing he was aware of was that he was very, very comfortable. More comfortable than he had any right to be. Confused, he allowed his eyes to flutter open, taking in the casual motel room around him. How had he ended up in a motel? He glanced down and saw that he was wrapped in a sheath of feathery appendages, and a tickle of air on the back of his neck answered his question.

"Gabe?" He asked tentatively, starting to roll over. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was dreaming, and would wake up in a far less comfortable situation at any moment.

"Whoa there, Samsquatch. Let's not move too quickly. I healed you, but I don't want to take any chances." Gabriel ran a soothing hand over the back of Sam's neck to calm him, leaning forward to press a kiss to Sam's cheek in reassurance.

"What...I can't remember what happened." Sam frowned, trying to put together any memory after his last time falling asleep in the cage. "You saved me," he suddenly realized. "I was out of it, I can barely remember anything."

Gabriel nuzzled Sam and sighed, kissing the nape of the hunter's neck. "You're safe now, Sam, that's what matters."

"How did you escape?" Sam asked curiously, turning until he could see Gabriel's face. The rush of relief that filled him from being able to see his archangel helped sooth his remaining trepidation.

Gabriel gazed into his mate's eyes and smiled softly. "I was able to escape because of you." When Sam looked confused, Gabriel clarified. "I was praying every day, always for you, and for Cas, and even for Dean. God allowed me a chance at escape as a reward for my improved behavior, I guess you could say. I used to be a selfish bastard, Sam, but you've made me reevaluate my priorities."

Sam smiled, pleased in spite of himself, and pressed a chaste kiss to the archangel's lips. "I am so glad you found me," he whispered.

"I wish I could have come sooner," Gabriel said, his voice broken. "I can't even imagine what you've been going through."

Sam gestured down to his pristine body, save for some light scaring, and raised an eyebrow. "I'm fine now, Gabe, I promise. Please don't worry about me. No demon can do any worse than Lucifer, and I survived that. I'm more worried about you. What sort of tortures can befall an archangel?"

Gabriel shifted his wings uncomfortably at the question, leading Sam's gaze to the massive scar in the center of each wing.

"What did they do?" Sam asked, horrified as he lightly traced the holes with his pointer finger. The feathers were missing from each scarred patch, and the wound was ugly, though already healed over to prevent any spilling grace.

"Angel blades," Gabriel replied solemnly. "I will always have the scars. My wings are a manifestation of my grace, and the blades kept me from being able to hide them away. They will always bear those marks. Thankfully, you bare no such trauma of your ordeal."

"God, Gabe, what ordeal? You had your wings pierced, don't you dare play the comparison game with me. Are you otherwise healed? Will you be okay?" Sam felt his eyes threatening tears, and hurriedly forced them away. The lingering memories of burning instruments and various tools for beating drifted away. He couldn't imagine sustaining the kind of pain Gabriel had endured. How could he have survived under such a direct attack on his grace?

"Hey, Sammy, hush now." Gabriel pulled Sam in closer and cuddled the bigger man, rubbing his hand soothingly along Sam's back. "I'm absolutely fine, and you're absolutely fine. We're going to perfectly all right, and we're going to rescue our brothers. I used my grace to get into Bobby's dreams last night. He's fine, and we're going to go to him to make a plan to get Cas and Dean back."

Relieved that Bobby wasn't also missing, Sam took a deep breath before replying. "Thank you, Gabe."

"For what, Sammy?" Gabriel asked softly, running his fingers lightly up and down Sam's side in a comforting rhythm.  

"Being someone I can have faith in." Sam replied, a gentle smile lighting up his eyes and taking years off his face.

* * *

After managing to convince Gabriel that he was up for angel travel, the archangel flew Sam to South Dakota to regroup with Bobby.

"Hey, Bobby, sorry-OOF." Sam's greeting was cut off by Bobby's bone crushing hug.

"Don't you dare do that to me again, boy," Bobby demanded. "I near enough had a heart attack." Releasing Sam, he turned around and pointed at Gabriel. "I'm not gonna hug you, feathers, but know that I'm damn grateful."

Gabriel nodded and smiled weakly at the older hunter. "Of course. What did you find in India?"

Nodding and jumping onto business matters, Bobby began laying down computer print outs for everyone to see. "This is what I've found so far. There's basic demon stuff all over India, a lot more than we see here in a given week, but the biggest concentration is here, in the middle of nowhere. I don't know how many to expect though."

"I would guess around fifteen," Gabriel mused. "There were twenty guarding me, and Cas isn't as big of a threat as I am. They only had about seven in the warehouse where Sam was being held."

"Holy hell, twenty? How'd you manage to get out of that?" Bobby asked, impressed in spite of himself.

Gabriel smiled wryly, glancing at Sam. "I was highly motivated."

Turning slightly pink, Sam changed the subject. "What about Dean? Do we have any idea where to look for him?"

"Not yet, but if we interrogate the demons guarding Cas, we may be able to find him. Interrogating my captors was how I learned where you and Cas were supposed to be." Gabriel ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "I need at least a general location to have a prayer of finding him."

"We'll find them both," Sam stated fiercely. "We are not letting some stupid demonic crusade to capture us break this team apart. If we stopped the damn apocalypse, we can stop some freaking demons. Do we even know why they captured us in the first place? And why did they leave you behind, Bobby?"

Bobby shrugged. "Hell if I know. All the demons in the entire town disappeared though. It was like whatever training camp they were running stopped as soon as we all showed up. They vanished with the four of you and left me there by myself. It's like they assumed I'd be useless on my own. Which I'd be pissed about if it wasn't true."

"You're hardly useless," Gabriel interjected, rolling his eyes. "You didn't have a clue where to look, so it's not that big of a surprise that you couldn't do anything. Now that we have a lead, you can help."

"I guess," Bobby said, sighing dramatically. "I guess we're going to India then."

"You're coming?" Sam asked, sounding surprised. "What if we get captured or something again and you end up stranded?"

"Shut up, idjit," Bobby said irritably. "As if I'd sit here when I could be helping. I'm going to help save Dean's boyfriend - which will never not be weird - then do my damnedest to find your brother. Understood?"

Sam let his lips twitch and nodded. "Understood. It'll be good to have your research help. So, do we leave now?"

"Hold up, Sam." Bobby gestured towards the closet outside the room and said, "We're going to need to back some heavy duty gear for this one."

Sam moved to help with the packing, while Gabriel stayed out of the way. As soon as the hunters felt sufficiently equipped, he snapped his fingers, instantly transporting them to the part of India Bobby had identified. With any luck, finding Castiel would be easy.


	8. India

It took Sam all of fifteen minutes to decide he wasn't a fan of India. To be honest, the country itself was probably lovely, but Sam wasn't there as a tourist. Gabriel had materialized with Sam and Bobby in tow in front of the building where they suspected Castiel to be. Bobby had been right about the location. It was a small town in the middle of nowhere, the building itself a dilapidated warehouse of some sort, but it smelled horrible. Of course it would have to be in the nastiest part of town, if the small civilization they'd landed in could be called a town. Sam had never seen anything filthier, and he could barely breathe the stench was so bad.

"Let's rescue that damn angel and go home," Bobby griped, his face sour. He looked like he wanted to plug his nose, but was refraining because he didn't want to look silly.

"Amen to that," Sam muttered in response, wincing as he inadvertently breathed through his nose.

Gabriel had disappeared briefly to examine the building, but when he returned his face was stormy. "I was right. There's at least fifteen demons in there, but it might be more. The whole building is warded against my specific interference, so I can't tell you where Cas is for sure. I can definitely sense holy fire, and at least half of the sigils I can feel are designed to weaken an angelic presence, so he's probably in pretty rough shape."

"Gabe," Sam attracted his attention and held out a pen to the archangel and bared his arm. "Draw the sigils I need to eliminate to help you. I'll get rid of them and then we'll find Cas. You'll be able to help him better than we can, so we need to make sure you can get in the building."

Nodding, Gabriel took the pen and quickly sketched out the Enochian sigils Sam would have to destroy. "There shouldn't be more than one of each of those," he explained. "Just one is plenty powerful enough to keep me here. I'll feel it as soon as they're gone and come join you. Any other sigils meant to keep angels out are mild enough that I can get rid of them myself once I'm in. These are just the ones that are specifically warded against me. Actually, take out these two as well." He drew a couple additional symbols on Sam's arm. "Those are the nastiest of the weakening sigils, and that will help both Cas and myself."

Sam nodded his understanding and took a deep breath. "Bobby, while I take care of the sigils, can you cover me?"

"Of course," Bobby scoffed, holding up Ruby's knife. Sam had been holding it before the failed demon hunt a week earlier, but it hadn't made the trip with him when the demons had abducted him, and Bobby had grabbed it, knowing that it would be foolish to let it get lost.

"All right," Sam nodded firmly. "Let's go, then." Steeling himself, Sam disappeared into the building, Bobby on his heels.

Gabriel looked on, clearly concerned, but not commenting. He took a deep breath, focusing on the building. He'd know the minute he could enter. To the archangel's intense relief, it was almost exactly seven minutes later when he felt the shield around the building drop. He immediately flew to Sam's side, nodding at Bobby, who had clearly had to take care of a few demons, if the bodies on the ground and blood on the knife were any indication.

Sam started slightly, but smiled when he saw Gabriel. "Guess that means I got the right sigils."

"Dammit," Bobby swore, glaring at Gabriel.

"Sorry," Gabriel said, unrepentant. "Come on, let's find my little brother. I can feel him now, and he's too faint."

Concerned, Sam hurried after Gabriel. Dean would never forgive him if he wasn't able to save his brother's angel.

"This way," Gabriel said confidently, leading them down a new corridor, then into a spacious room. It didn't surprise any of them to see the twelve demons Sam and Bobby hadn't killed yet surrounding the angel, who was too out of it to notice their entrance.

"How'd you escape?" The demon in front asked in a hiss. "You both are meant to be suffering for sending our lord back into his pit!"

Sam gaped at the demon. "Seriously? This was all punishment for aborting the apocalypse? You idiots! You know Lucifer was going to destroy you all, right?"

The demons shifted uneasily at that, but the one in front scoffed. "Do not attempt to fool us with your lies! You are our sworn enemies."

Gabriel rolled his eyes and strode forward purposefully. "You guys are way too dramatic, and that's more than enough," he said calmly. With a thought he had all the demons trapped in their bodies and pinned against the walls, leaving him free to focus on the lead demon. "Where is Dean Winchester?"

A grin spread over the demon's face. "I'm never telling," he taunted. "If we only get to keep one of you, it will be enough."

"Sammy," Gabriel called, his voice still scarily calm. "Devil's trap, please."

Sam held out a hand to Bobby, who tossed him a Sharpie from the dufflebag. Sam quickly set to work sketching out a trap. As soon as he finished, Gabriel shoved the demon into it.

"One of you will answer the question," He told the other demons in a loud and stern voice. At least half of the demons had the intelligence to look frightened. In a lower voice he addressed Sam. "Make sure all the others are trapped and start interrogating. I'm going to free my brother."

Nodding, Sam and Bobby immediately began to trap each demon, Gabriel's grip on each individual demon relaxing as they were stuck within the devil's trap.

Gabriel quickly eliminated the holy fire from the cage his brother was trapped in and flung open the door, destroying the chain to which Castiel's limbs were connected. The angel was far too weak, and his grace was barely glowing. His skin was destroyed from the entertainment of the demons, and Gabriel focused on these human wounds first. He repaired Castiel's vessel, then the vessel's clothing until the angel looked almost like new, with the exception of his currently passed out state in Gabriel's arms.

Steeling himself, Gabriel began to slowly pour his grace into his brother, repairing all the damage he could find and strengthening Castiel's grace. It was a slow process, and he could feel Sam and Bobby's eyes trained on him with concern. After ten minutes of this, he relaxed and his shoulders hunched, his body weak from the strain.

"Gabe, are you all right?" Sam asked quietly. At Gabriel's nod, he added tentatively, "Is Cas?"

Gabriel didn't respond, his focus still on Castiel. "Cas, can you hear me?"

There was a moan, then Castiel's eyes opened slowly. He took in his surroundings, then his gaze focused on Gabriel. "Brother," he said with surprise. He paused, then added, "I am alive. That is unexpected."

"You expected us to abandon you?" Gabriel said, his tone both surprised and irritated.

"No, I did not expect you to escape," Castiel corrected.

Sam came forward then, laying a hand on Castiel's shoulder and smiling at him uncertainly. "You have no idea how glad I am that you're okay, Cas," he said sincerely.

Castiel nodded. "Thank you, Sam. I will be fine. I will be fully recovered presently, as will Gabriel." He turned his gaze back to Gabriel with a raised eyebrow. "I did not require quite so much of your grace, brother."

"Sue me for caring," Gabriel snarked, standing up and pulling Castiel to his feet. "Come on, we have demons to interrogate. We still don't know where Dean is."

Castiel's eyes flashed with concealed rage. "I will fix that," he said darkly. Like Sam to Gabriel, Dean had been praying to Castiel for the entirety of their captivity, and Castiel would not rest until he saved his hunter and eviscerated those holding him captive.

* * *

It took almost an entire day, but they had managed to glean a small amount of information from the demons. One of them had known that Dean was nowhere in Asia. Another had been positive that he had not been kept in North America. Three different demons had confirmed that Dean was not in Canada, Mexico, or South America. None of them did know where he was for certain, but systematically eliminating continents made their job a little bit easier.

In the end, they were left with the demon leader that had addressed them when they arrived. Gabriel and Castiel were both running on full steam again, and they towered over the cowering demon, glaring impressively. Removing the remaining sigils had done wonders for both of their graces, and they were more than ready to end this entire ordeal.

"Where is Dean Winchester?" Castiel asked, his voice evenly toned but concealing rage.

"I'd answer him if I were you," Gabriel encouraged. "Dude's damn scary when he wants to be."

Ignoring that, Castiel continued to glower at the demon, allowing glimpses of the power of his grace to accentuate the threat in his voice.

"I'm not telling," the demon spat tauntingly, though its eyes were unsure now.

Bobby had been flown back to South Dakota to do research on what they knew. At this rate, Dean was going to be somewhere in Europe, since one of the demons had eliminated Africa. Also, since Gabriel had been in Madagascar, it made sense that the demons wanted them all as far from each other as possible. So far none of them had been on the same continent as another. That pretty much left Europe, and Bobby was gathering demon data for them, in case they couldn't get a definite answer from any of the demons.

Sam had elected to stay with Gabriel, wanting to be on the scene when they finally got an answer out of this demon. He was concerned for his brother, but he was also worried about Castiel, who was not taking Dean's absence well. As a result, Gabriel was overly fearful for Castiel, which in turn made Sam afraid for Gabriel. It was a cycle that would be broken by Dean's freedom, so finding him was essential.

Castiel had forced the demon's mouth open and was pouring holy water down its throat while using his grace to puncture the demon from within with light. He had a goal and would not be distracted from it.

"ENOUGH!" The demon hollered, causing everyone to pause for an instant. Breathing hard, the demon managed to gasp out, "Europe. The hunter is in Europe."

"We've guessed that already, Captain Obvious," Gabriel snapped. "Give us more."

"Western Europe," the demon elaborated. "That's all I know, I swear!"

Just then, Sam's cell phone rang. He pulled it out and stared at it for a moment, confused. He glanced up at Gabriel with a raised eyebrow. He'd had the presence of mind before they left for India to turn off everything but the Wi-Fi, so it shouldn't have been ringing.

"Relax, kiddo, no international fees. I may have fixed your phone. It was Bobby's idea. I think he just didn't want to have to pray to relay messages." Gabriel winked at him reassuringly, then turned back to the demon.

Intrigued by the fact that cell phone modification was apparently one of Gabriel's talents, Sam answered the call. "Hey, Bobby, what's up?"

"You boys find anything new?" Bobby's voice sounded tired, and Sam briefly wondered what time it was in South Dakota.

"Western Europe is as detailed as we've got," Sam replied.

"That fits. I've got significant demon activity in Dublin, Venice, and Madrid. Any of those sound like winners to you?"

Sam glanced at the demon as Bobby spoke. "Not yet, but we'll find out. I'll call you when we know," Sam promised. He turned to Gabriel and tapped his head meaningfully.

_Bobby says our best bets are Dublin, Venice, or Madrid._

Gabriel nodded at the thought and turned back to the demon. "So, Western Europe, huh?" He said in voice of forced calm. "You say you don't know what city?"

"No, I swear I don't know," the demon whimpered.

"I think you do. I promise to kill you quickly if you're honest with me." Gabriel almost smiled at the demon as he tried to sound reassuring.

The demon quivered but didn't respond.

"Is it...London?" Gabriel threw out, knowing that wasn't a real option.

"No," the demon said confidently.

"Good, we're making progress then. Paris?"

The demon shook its head.

"Venice? Rome?" Gabriel offered.

"No, not Italy," the demon said with certainty.

Sam mentally took Venice off the list. So, Ireland or Spain then.

"Prague? Dublin? Edinburgh?" Gabriel tossed out a few more famous cities.

The demon shook his head. "No, none of those."

Smiling to himself, Sam took his phone out and texted Bobby.

**Sam Winchester: It's Madrid.**


	9. Overheated

Weirdly, it wasn't the pain or sensation of blood draining from his body that was bothering Dean the most. Not even the demon that was enjoying finding new ways to ravage his most private areas every hour was as irritating as the overpowering heat in the building. Dean wasn't entirely sure where he was, but he found trying to figure it out to be a suitable distraction. Every so often the demon would succeed in recapturing his attention with an excessively painful action, but Dean would force himself back into a state of calm and begin focusing on something else entirely. The first night after he'd been taken had been practically blissful, what with the remainder of the dream dust giving him a luxurious escape from his torment, but he'd had no such break since then.

However, the truth was that this wasn't as bad as Hell. It just wasn't. It was certainly painful, and definitely humiliating, no question, but it wasn't Hell. Alistair had been a million times more creative than this demon. There was one thing above all that that kept Dean grounded though. In Hell, he had no hope because he was dead. This time, he was merely a captive, and he was very much alive. He could withstand any torment as long as he still had hope. If there was one thing that Dean knew above anything else, it was that Sam, Bobby, and Castiel would stop at nothing to find him, the same as he would do for them. Even Gabriel would probably pull out all the stops to find him. As long as one of them got free, then the others would be rescued soon. So, Dean either had to get free, or be content to wait for rescue. Either way, he knew that eventually it would end. He just hoped that everyone else survived.

So yes, Dean was being tortured and he was not far from his breaking point, but he had hope that he would be rescued, and that made all the difference in the world.

Dean had lost count of the days he had been with the demon, mostly because there were no windows to alert him of the passing of time, but he was guessing it had been a little over a week. He wasn't even paying attention to what the demon was doing below the belt anymore. It was all blurring into white hot pain, and it made little difference what tool was being used where. He was pretty sure that nothing had been permanently damaged, or at least nothing was irreparable, but everything hurt like hell, so he couldn't be sure. At least the demon had been content to only use tools on him. He hadn't had to deal with being a demon's bitch, which was more of a relief than he would let on.

"INTRUDERS!" The yell came echoing through the room, staying the demon's hand as he was moving forward with a branding iron.

"Dammit," the demon hissed, dropping the tool and moving towards the door, eyes flashing flat black.

Dean was vaguely aware of the commotion, but all he could seem to focus on was the heat. Why was it so freaking hot in this building?

"DEAN!" A familiar voice bellowed, followed by echoes of his name by other voices.

He knew those voices. Should he respond? That would probably help them find him. Dean attempted to open his mouth, only to realize that the demon had gagged him at some point. He had probably been too close to unconsciousness to notice the uncomfortable sensation. Somehow, any of his senses being removed had stopped being worthy of note around the time he'd stopped caring that he was naked.

It didn't matter, because a moment later two demons collapsed into the room, burnt out of their hosts. Striding into the room past them, looking murderous, was Castiel.

Dean felt a wave of relief, but couldn't make the emotions connect to the rest of his body, managing to look apathetic instead.

"Oh, Father," Castiel murmured, his expression changing to one of horror as he took in Dean's bound form. "What have these abominations done to you?" He moved forward quickly, unbinding Dean and removing the gag. "I will get you out of here and then I shall address your injuries," he said solemnly.

"Thanks, Cas," Dean managed to mutter, but his voice was barely audible.

Castiel frowned and raised his voice. "Gabriel! I have Dean, and I'm taking him somewhere safe. Meet us at Bobby's tonight."

"Sounds good!" Gabriel hollered from the other room, his voice sounding strained. "Samsquatch and I are a little busy at the moment!" The comment was accompanied by a yell and a grunting noise, followed by a scream indicated the death of another demon.

Nodding to himself, Castiel picked Dean up and held him close to his chest, averting his gaze from the wounded hunter. With a thought, they were gone.

* * *

Castiel chose to take a page out of Gabriel's playbook and relocate to a nice hotel. He knew that Dean was used to grubby motel rooms, but somehow he felt that a nicer environment might be better at this time. He set Dean gently on the spacious bed and sighed to himself.

"Nice digs, Cas," Dean managed to say softly.

"I wanted you to be comfortable," Castiel replied simply. "I'm going to heal you now, but I'm going to do it in stages. I wish to assess the damage."

Dean looked uncomfortable at that, but didn't protest as Castiel pressed his fingers to Dean's forehead for a long moment. The pain Dean felt in various areas began to fade, starting with his physically visible wounds and ending with internal damage. When the angel removed his fingers, Dean felt a thousand times better. In fact, he felt pretty damn tired. The demon hadn't really ever let him sleep for long.

"Thanks, Cas," Dean offered, his voice stronger.

"Dean," Castiel choked, sounding even more horrified than before. "I am so sorry for what they did to you. It seems each of us were targeted in a way that they imagined would hurt us most."

Dean felt more alert at that revelation. "What do you mean? Are you okay? What about Sammy? Gabriel? Bobby?"

"We are fine, Dean," Castiel informed him. "Bobby was not taken, Gabriel and I have both healed, and Sam was healed by Gabriel when he rescued him. My concern at the moment is for you. Are you all right? Physically you are fine now, but I'm more concerned with your mental state."

Considering how to honestly respond to that, Dean hesitated before replying with, "I'm...not as bad as I could be. I mean, I'll probably have some nightmares, but I think I'll be okay. It wasn't Hell. It was pretty damn horrifying as far as my experiences topside go, but still, not Hell." He yawned and pushed himself further into Castiel's arms without really realizing he was doing it, seeking the comfort and security of his angel's grasp.

Castiel nodded in understanding, tightening his arms around the hunter. "That gives me hope for your recovery. Sam was similarly peaceful after Gabriel saved him, from what I have observed."

"What happened to you three?" Dean asked, his lack of sleep forgotten out of curiosity. It sounded like everyone would be fine, but it was hard to rid himself of the panic he had felt for them all over the last week or so.

Castiel sighed. "I was contained with holy fire that kept me severely weakened, and restrained in such a way that the demons could easily beat my vessel. Gabriel's captivity was more focused on abuse of his wings, which as an archangel are exceptionally valuable to him."

"What about Sam?" Dean asked tightly, the concern in his voice unabated by the knowledge that everyone was fine now.

"Sam's experience seems, from what I was told, to have been largely psychological." Castiel stated. When Dean looked confused, he elaborated. "He was kept in a consistently high state of pain to make him unable to focus on anything else. According to Gabriel, he prayed to keep himself grounded."

Dean saw red for a moment before relaxing. "And Gabriel got him out?"

Castiel nodded. "We are all safe now, Dean. Do you wish to talk about your captivity?"

"Not really," Dean muttered. "Honestly I think I need a nap. I...it might be harder tomorrow, but we'll get through it. Like I said, I've been through worse, and I've got you. We'll be okay."

"We will all be with you, Dean," Castiel said, his voice turning towards comfort. "We will all heal together. I was witness to Hell, and I am aware that you have experienced far worse. This was nothing you have not already overcome. Sam has also already overcome his experience with Hell, so I am confident that the four of us will recover."

Dean felt a smile spread across his face. "Thanks, Cas. Will you stay with me while I sleep?" There had been a time when Dean would never have even dreamed of asking that, but he couldn't seem to find a reason not to.

"Of course, Dean." As Castiel moved into a position on the other half of the bed next to Dean, he was suddenly rearranged by strong arms until Dean was cuddling him. The angel did not comment, but merely relaxed into Dean's arms and began to hum quietly to himself.

"You're amazing, Cas," Dean whispered, his voice heavy with sleep. "Thanks for saving me."

"I will always save you, Dean."


	10. Safe

Dean stumbled slightly when Castiel transported them to Bobby's, but steadied himself quickly. It was a good thing he did, because not two seconds passed before Sam barreled into him, gripping him in a tight hug.

"Geez, Sam!" Dean complained half-heartedly, staggering backwards with the force of his brother, reaching up to return to hug instinctually. "I'm fine!"

"Shut up, jerk, I know that," Sam muttered sullenly. He released his brother and smacked his shoulder without any real force. "I'm just glad to see you in one piece."

"Bitch," Dean threw back at him automatically, but he grinned, the insult more like a term of endearment.

"It is quite remarkable that we are all healthy," Castiel observed, smiling softly at the exchange.

"God cares more than He lets on, baby bro," Gabriel offered, moving forward to join the group, tossing an arm around Sam casually.

Castiel merely nodded, accepting this, while Dean and Sam looked moderately skeptical.

"Dammit, boys, get in the house already!" Bobby hollered from the porch.

Startled, the Winchesters immediately moved towards the door, with the angels strolling leisurely along beside them.

Dean had to endure another hug from Bobby, but the group finally settled in what Bobby roughly referred to as the living room, relaxing as much as they could manage.

"So," Bobby said, attempting to break the mildly awkward silence. "All alive and kicking then."

"Just peachy, Bobby," Dean offered, grinning easily. It was easier in the light of day and company of his family to relax. Castiel had soothed him through a nightmare the night before, but the absence of any physical pain from his ordeal was helping him distance himself from it.

Castiel nodded slowly, looking at Dean for any sign that the hunter needed support, seeming relieved that Dean was doing all right.

Sam glanced at Gabriel and leaned against him lightly, smiling softly at the archangel's comforting embrace. He was confident that they would all be just fine. The worry he'd been harboring during their captivity for everyone's safety hadn't really abated yet, but he would deal with it in time.

"Why don't we go put our stuff in the guest rooms?" Gabriel suggested forcefully, giving Sam a meaningful look. "Then maybe snacks?" This last question he directed at Bobby.

"You're welcome to whatever I've got in my fridge," Bobby muttered, doing his best to make the offer sound generous.

"That means beer and bread," Dean clarified, grinning at Bobby when the older hunter kicked him.

Leaving Dean and Bobby to banter, Sam reluctantly followed Gabriel upstairs, well aware of the archangel's ability to get all the luggage in the proper rooms without so much as twitching.

As soon as they were in their room, Gabriel turned to face his hunter. "Sam, are you okay?" The question was serious, and the concern in Gabriel's eyes was more intense than Sam had ever seen.

"I'm fine, Gabe, don't worry about me. I promise, I'm absolutely fine." Sam did his best to smile, to reassure his archangel that he was truly doing well. It was essentially true. It was only the worry he couldn't quite get past, but he was sure that would fade.

Gabriel's eyes narrowed. "Not buying it, kiddo. Spill."

"Physically, I'm great," Sam offered weakly.

"I know, genius, I healed you. Tell me what's going on in that head of yours before I figure it out myself." Gabriel gave Sam a look that left his sincerity in little doubt.

"I'm fine!" Sam huffed impatiently.

Gabriel rolled his eyes and delved into Sam's mind without any warning, leaving the hunter to bristle at the intrusion. It took Gabriel some sifting, but he finally found the emotions Sam was repressing. Mentally, Sam knew that what he had experienced was peanuts compared to what he'd been through in Hell. It had hurt like a bitch, but Gabriel had healed him, and he was safe now. That was what Sam knew, and he was genuinely fine when it came to the physical pain he had endured. However, a week of solid torture with no indication that his brother, friend, or lover were alive had created a panic in him that he hadn't really realized until now. Except, now he was free, so he had all that pure fear with nowhere to channel it. It was eating him up, but he was technically fine. Mentally and physically he was good. Emotionally, he was all over the place.

Sighing deeply, Gabriel focused intently on Sam's fear. He gently used his grace to sooth Sam's mind, using the fact that Bobby, Dean, and Castiel were all downstairs perfectly safe as a kind of mantra to relax his hunter. It was a slow process, but eventually Gabriel's mind massage resulted in a fully relaxed Sam.

A long sigh of pure relief drifted out of Sam. "Thanks, Gabe," he murmured. "I think...I needed that."

Gabriel chuckled and shifted Sam into a lounging position on the bed, tucking the hunter's hair behind his ears. "You're going to be ridiculously tired for awhile, kiddo, so get some rest, okay?"

"M'kay," Sam managed to reply before falling asleep almost immediatley.

Smiling to himself, Gabriel left his hunter to rest, returning downstairs to where the others were engaging in idle chit chat. He felt more relaxed himself, now that he was one hundred percent sure Sam was fine.

"Where's Sam?" Dean asked as Gabriel reappeared in the room.

"Sleeping," Gabriel replied. "He's worn out, so I figured it'd be best for him to go ahead and hit the hay, so to speak."

"All right, well, anyone want beer?" Bobby offered.

Dean's hand shot up immediately, followed by a mildly interested shrug from Gabriel, and no reaction at all from Castiel, whose gaze was still focused on Dean, his eyes showing his concern for his hunter's well being.

Recognizing Castiel's gaze still on him, Dean sighed and turned to Gabriel. "Dude, can you give me and Cas a minute? Go, I dunno, help Bobby or something."

Giving the two of them a knowing look, Gabriel vanished.

Dean rounded on Castiel. "Cas, for the love of all that is good in this world, which is pretty much the people in this house, my car, and pie, stop looking at me like I'm about to explode."

Castiel barely blinked. "I am concerned about you, Dean," He informed the hunter.

"No shit, Cas, I figured," Dean replied sarcastically. "I'm totally fine though, I swear. You healed me, I'm not going to freak out or anything, and everyone's safe. Can't you just take my word for it?"

"I do trust you, Dean," Castiel offered immediately.

"Great, so trust that I'm okay." Dean smiled and gripped Castiel's hand in his own. "You saved me, and I'm good. Really good. Odds are I'll get a few nightmares, but that's what the dream dust is for, right?" He said this half jokingly, but Castiel's eyes widened eagerly.

"I believe Gabriel gave the last of your supply to Sam, but I will retrieve more." He stated.

"Wait, Cas," Dean started to say, but the angel had vanished.

Bobby returned, followed warily by Gabriel, and both seemed surprised to find Dean alone.

"Where's your angel?" Bobby asked, tossing Dean the beer he had requested.

"He went -" Dean began to reply, but cut off when Castiel reappeared, placing a large jar of partially luminescent sand in Dean's free hand.

"Will that suffice?" Castiel asked, his eyes eager.

Dean couldn't help but smile at the look on Castiel's face. "It's great, Cas. Thanks. This is more than enough for me, so I'll give half to Sam, just in case."

Castiel seemed to agree with that plan, and watched as Dean set the jar down on the desk, then used his free arm to pull Castiel closer. The angel made a small noise of pleasure in response, feeling guilty when Bobby and Gabriel gave each other wary and uncomfortable looks.

"Relax, Bobby, we're not going to consecrate your living room," Dean teased.

Bobby flushed and glared at his adopted son. "Shut up, boy. You know the house rules."

"No sex in un-soundproofed rooms," Gabriel offered unhelpfully.

Bobby looked like he was about to argue, but instead waved a hand dismissively and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess I can live with that."

Dean was so surprised he started laughing, causing the others in the room to look at him funny.

"What is so amusing, Dean?" Castiel asked softly.

"Nothing, it's just...we're all good, you know? Sam'll be fine, I'll get used to Gabriel, Bobby's good, I've got you, and we're all safe. Aside from our jobs, which just attract crap like crazy, I think we'll all be okay. I dunno, it's just a nice feeling, after being worried that you were all dying for the past week." Dean shrugged, well aware that that was probably the sappiest thing he'd ever said in his life.

Castiel was beaming at him, finally relaxing now that he was confident Dean wasn't headed for any sort of panic attack. "Indeed," he murmured, pressing a little tighter to Dean's side.

Gabriel looked pleased as well, and even Bobby looked a modicum less grumpy.

"I guess that's the saying, ain't it?" Bobby spoke up. When no one looked like they got it, he elaborated with, "It's always darkest before dawn, get it? You all had your few weeks of private hell from Lucifer's brigade, cleaned up shop, and now you've got some downtime to appreciate."

The others in the room, nodded, understanding what Bobby meant.

Gabriel refilled everyone's beers with a little wave of his finger, grinning. "I guess that's as good a cause as any to celebrate!"

Dean took a swig of his refreshed beer with mildly surprised glee. "Dude, keep supplying me with whatever you put in this bottle and I promise I will never...no, wait. Okay, I promise to try not to get pissed at you too often."

Gabriel laughed out loud. "Deal, Dean-o. I guess I promise not to prank you too often. I solemnly swear I will keep my mitts off the Impala, before you ask. I know you'd take my head off, then Sam would be pissed, and it's just all around not a good idea."

"Smart man," Dean replied, causing Castiel to chuckle.

"I like this family," Castiel said, causing everyone to pause and turn to him. "It is very nice."

Dean took a look around the room, sparing a glance towards the stars where Sam was sleeping. "Yeah, Cas, it is. It really is."


	11. Epilogue

_**2 Years** **Later** _

"Samsquatch!" Gabriel bellowed from the foot of the stairs, impatiently tapping his foot. "Let's go already! Our brothers are expecting us in Wisconsin right now!"

The younger Winchester appeared at the top of the stairs carrying a duffle bag, looking exasperated. "Gabe, relax. This trip is supposed to be fun, remember?"

Gabriel made a face at him. "I think you and Dean are the only people I know who would classify a hunt as fun."

Sam rolled his eyes, but his expression was cheerful. He headed down the stairs, commenting, "It's just a salt and burn, Gabe. Not even all that dangerous. Dean and I decided a long time ago that basic hunts make for good bonding time."

Gabriel chuckled and held out his hand to Sam. "Well, let's get going then!"

Hesitating, Sam gave their house a cursory look. "You took care of Maxwell, right?"

"Yes, Sammy, our dog is with the neighbors, who have promised to watch the house while we're away. Happy now?" Gabriel twitched his open hand, still held out to Sam.

Pursing his lips, Sam seemed to be looking for anything he might have forgotten, but Gabriel was pretty thorough. Their nice small house in the French countryside would be fine for a few days. "All right, let's go." Sam placed his hand in Gabriel's and they vanished.

Dean was in the middle of explaining to Castiel why this particular spirit interested in him when their brothers appeared.

"Hey, dude," Dean called, before turning back to Castiel. "Basically, this girl died because of an accident, but her spirit is restless so she's causing accidents for other people. She's not hard to track, but more people are going to start getting hurt if we don't put her to rest. It's not a hard hunt, and the four of us haven't hunted together in, what, four months?" Dean shot Sam a look for clarification.

The younger hunter had already tossed his duffle bag in the corner and hooked up his laptop to Wi-Fi while his brother was talking. "All together? Yeah, about four months. You and I went after that demon thing last month, but its otherwise pretty much just been you and Cas."

"Which I can totally live with," Gabriel commented from the sofa where he'd made himself comfortable. "You two actually enjoy hunting, whereas I'm rather partial to my house. Once in awhile it's nice to stretch out the hunting muscles though." He shot a look at Sam, who was smiling at him. They'd long ago established how hunting was going to work in their new lives. Dean and Castiel hunted together in much the same way the Winchesters had always hunted together. Every so often Dean and Sam would work a case together, or all four of them would join forces, but Sam and Gabriel were perfectly content to live peacefully, and that's what they were doing. Most of the time. They frequently worked with Bobby on lore and distributing research to the hunting community at large.

"That's why we're going to protect the next victim while you two do the salting and burning," Dean told him. "She was thirteen when she died, so she's taking out all these petty vendettas against the descendants of the people who were mean to her as a kid."

"Mmm. That sucks," Sam commented. "Which cemetery?"

Gabriel tuned out the hunting conversation and motioned for Castiel to join him on the couch. "How've you been, bro?"

"Quite well, Gabriel, thank you for asking," Castiel replied, smiling far more easily than he used to. It was a natural movement now, rather than something he had to think about.

"Keeping Dean-o out of trouble?" Gabriel asked, sticking his tongue out at Dean when the older hunter turned around to give him the finger.

"We make a good team," Castiel responded, his voice full of satisfaction. "It would be nice to see you and Sam more frequently."

Sam looked up, entering the other conversation. "What are you talking about, Cas? We see you guys like twice a week, at a minimum. We even see Bobby every week."

"That's true," Castiel acknowledged. "This arrangement just feels different from before. Back in the old days, to use an idiom."

"Ah yes, the good old apocalypse. Gotta miss the good old days, right, guys?" Gabriel teased, rolling his eyes.

Dean chuckled, but placed his hand comfortingly on Castiel's shoulder. "I get what you're saying, Cas. Back then we were a united team, and we were together all the time. Now, it's like we have this family routine thing. It's practically domestic, except for the fact that you guys are in France of all freaking places, and Cas and I still hunt."

Sam was smiling wistfully. "Yeah, I can see what you mean too. I mean, domestic is pretty sweet in my opinion." He glanced at Gabriel and blushed. "Maybe it would be fun to take a trip all together or something. Like just take a week off and spend time together."

"Dude, Hawaii!" Dean blurted almost immediately, looking excited.

"Dean, if you had a desire to go to Hawaii, I could have taken you at any moment," Castiel pointed out, sounding slightly offended.

"I don't have an overwhelming desire to go to the beach, Cas," Dean said with exasperation. "I just think a vacation in Hawaii would be awesome."

Gabriel looked highly amused, but was giving Sam a speculative look. "I think we could make that work. I'm sure the neighbors can watch Maxwell a little longer."

"I can't believe you named your dog Maxwell, Sam," Dean muttered at his brother, feigning disappointment. "Why not something cooler?"

"It's a golden retriever, Dean, not a rottweiler. Maxwell is a great name." Sam made a face at Dean and then grinned.

"Eh, whatever." Dean shook his head and began messing with Castiel's hair, which caused the angels expression to change immediately from mild interest to extreme pleasure.

"Guys, family members in the room?" Gabriel hinted, his tone full of mirth.

Castiel flushed, but Dean just grinned. "We booked you guys another room!" He offered, ignoring the bitch face Sam through at him.

"How about we leave the pairing off into separate rooms until after we burn the bones?" Sam reminded them.

"Oh, ghost, right." Dean reluctantly left Castiel's side to pick up the bag of supplies he'd been packing. "All right, let's take care of that. Spirit, then bed, then Hawaii. Sound good?"

"I can get behind that plan," Gabriel agreed, still sounding amused. "Have fun, you two!" He gave Dean and Castiel a cheeky wave as the duo vanished, then extended his hand to Sam again. "Time to burn some bones! Let's be quick about it, I'm already horny."

"You're always horny," Sam replied, his tone somewhere between exasperated and amused. He took Gabriel's hand and they reappeared in a graveyard. "I don't suppose you want to use that angelic muscle to help me dig?" Sam asked hopefully.

"Samsquatch, you know how much I love watching you work out," Gabriel said innocently. "I think I'm just too tired from flying around to help you today."

Sam rolled his eyes, but resigned himself to doing the digging on his own. He knew Gabriel would probably get impatient and finish the job at some point, but there was no harm in giving his archangel boyfriend a little show first. He stripped off his plaid over shirt leaving the form fitting undershirt that was practically painted onto his body. He knew his ass rocked in these jeans, and he fully intended to take advantage of that. Straightening himself into a good starting position, he launched the shovel into the ground and began to dig, grinning when he began to hear small but distinctive moans coming from behind him.

In the end, Sam was right. Gabriel only let him dig for about twenty minutes before snapping the grave open himself. When Sam raised an eyebrow at him, Gabriel moved to stand right behind him and growled in his ear, "Burn the damn bones so we can get back to the motel. Or would you like me to take you against a tombstone?"

Shivering lightly, Sam managed to keep his presence of mind long enough to salt the bones, cover them in lighter fluid, and set the blaze. Pleased with himself, he backed away from the burning grave and pulled out his cell phone, hitting his first speed dial.

"Yeah?" Dean's voice answered.

"Salted and burned. You should be good." Sam wrapped his free arm around Gabriel, who looked wildly impatient for Sam to finish this conversation.

"Okay, awesome. I guess we'll see you...tomorrow then." Dean's voice cracked a little under the awkward implications, and Castiel could be heard in the background muttering something in a low voice.

"Yeah, dude, tomorrow. Pack your swim trunks." Sam closed the phone with a grin and turned his full attentions to Gabriel. The minute he did so, they were in their motel room, but Sam barely noticed due to the intense kissing he happened to be participating in.

Gabriel was clearly impatient, because he snapped away both of their clothes and had Sam pinned down to the bed in an instant, driving him wild with kisses and bites against his lips, collarbone, and chest, moving progressively lower.

"Oh, God," Sam managed to say, before he was completely distracted by Gabriel's crotch gyrating against his own.

"Nah, you can call me Gabe," the archangel teased.

Sam grunted and shot Gabriel a glare. "It wasn't funny the first hundred times either, Gabe," he huffed, gyrating back against Gabriel and causing the archangel to lose his concentration completely.

"Shut up, you know I'm hilarious." Gabriel managed to reply.

"Stop talking," Sam growled, tightening his grip in Gabriel's hair.

The archangel was happy to oblige.

* * *

In Dean and Castiel's room, the scenario was much the same, except that Dean was actually pinned down by Castiel's grace, looking up with eager adoration at the feral expression on his angel. Castiel had discovered the power of teasing and control a long time ago, and nothing was more arousing to either of them than Castiel when he took control.

"I must say, Dean," Castiel murmured, taking a break from mapping the hunter's chest with his tongue, "I've quite sure there's not another being on earth even half as beautiful as you." He allowed a wicked grin to take over his expression, though his eyes twinkled with the passion of his love. "Especially when I have you like this."

Dean moaned loudly and writhed against his invisible bonds, gyrating up towards his angel in desperation. "Please, Cas..." He begged.

"Mmm...I love it when you beg for me," Castiel whispered, returning to his ministrations.

Resigning himself to Castiel's teasing, Dean took deep breaths, trying to control the raging arousal that was controlling him at the moment.

"Do you want me inside you, Dean?" Castiel murmured, having finished Dean's chest and kissed the tip of the hunter's erection.

"Yes, yes, yes," Dean chanted, his eyes glazed over with longing. "Now, please, Cas!"

Castiel grinned and slowly began to open his hunter up, relishing the noises coming out of the man. This was their heaven.

* * *

The next morning, the two couples met at the front desk of the motel, turning in their key cards before heading outside.

"So...Hawaii?" Dean asked, deliberating not looking anyone in the eye. It was just too weird knowing that they all knew perfectly well what the others had been up to last night.

"Hawaii," Sam confirmed, grinning down at Gabriel and winking. A vacation would be good.

There was a pause, then the warm and muggy sensation of a climate change hit them, followed by the smell of sea air.


End file.
